Kevin Durant is one of the greatest players in NBA history. He’s perhaps the most gifted, smoothest pure scorer to ever lace them up, and a guy with little-to-nothing left to prove in the Association.
Then again, we can’t ignore the fact that he’s vastly underperformed in the playoffs this season. He’s far from the efficient scorer he usually is and his body language has been way off thus far.
And now that the Brooklyn Nets are on the verge of elimination and Durant’s slump has been one of the biggest reasons why, Charles Barkley didn’t mince his words about the two-time Finals MVP.
Charles Barkley Calls Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving ‘Bus Riders’
“Please don’t tell me you’re a great, great player and you’re averaging 20,” Barkley said. “I don’t think I ever played in the playoffs and averaged 20. I don’t wanna bad mouth a dude but you guys always talk about Championship stuff.”
“I try to tell y’all, all these bus riders, they don’t mean nothing to me,” he added.“If you ain’t driving the bus, don’t walk around talking about you a Champion. If you’re riding the bus, I don’t wanna hear it. All these guys walking around with Championship rings, y’all bus riders. When you the bus driver and you get all that pressure when you have to play well or you’re gonna get the blame, that’s a different animal.”
Barkley Says Durant Wasn’t The Best Player In Golden State
Chuck went as far as to say that Durant was never the best player in his days with the Golden State Warriors. He looked back at his career and pointed out how he never won while ‘driving the bus’:
(Transcript via Fadeaway World)
Barkley: “What has happened when he is driving the bus?
Kenny: “He lost in the Finals.”
Barkley: “Yeah, okay, he did. And then when he was in Oklahoma City again…”
Kenny: “But you don’t think he was the bus driver in Golden State?”
Barkley: “No, I do not.”
Kenny: “You don’t think he was the best player on that team?”
Barkley: “No I do not. He got MVP. He wasn’t the best player. Iguodala wasn’t the best player, he got MVP.”
No one can take away what KD has accomplished throughout his careeR. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a guy who’s won nearly everything. But this narrative will never go away. Without Stephen Curry, he’s won just as much as James Harden.
