Charles Barkley takes another uncalled-for shot at Kevin Durant

To say that Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley don’t like each other would be a huge understatement. They’ve feuded for years now, and it’s starting to become an annual tradition at this point.

Barkley has taken countless shots at Durant. He’s called him a ‘bus rider and not a bus driver,’ and has taken offense at the fact that he’s jumped ship multiple times to pursue an NBA championship.

The Phoenix Suns star, on the other hand, has repeatedly clapped back at him, going as far as to say that the old heads are just jealous that he’s making more money. Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Barkley Goes At Durant Again

That’s why it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Barkley using his platform to try and discredit his colleague again. This time, however, he did it during a nationally televised broadcast right in the midst of the All-Star Game:

Charles Barkley

“[Devin] Booker has to be your mental leader and your vocal leader. No disrespect to Kevin Durant; he’s a follower, he’s not a leader. He’s proven that in all his spots,” said Barkley. “Booker is a hell of a player; he’s going to have to take the initiative to take this Suns team to another level. Kevin’s a hell of a player, I don’t wanna say anything bad about him. I said the same thing about Boston; one of you guys has to step forward. For Phoenix to be successful, I think it has to be Booker.”

Whether Barkley is right or not is not up for debate right now, but this was pretty much out of the blue. The All-Star Game, while watered down and boring, is supposed to be about uplifting the players and the NBA community.

Durant has repeatedly claimed to be unbothered by this kind of criticism, yet he’s never stayed silent about it, so we can definitely expect a harsh response from the future Hall of Famer.