Nets superstar Kevin Durant addresses how he has no interest in proving Charles Barkley and the old heads about being the Bus Driver of a championship team.
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Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley trade punches once again over the bus driver analogy as the Warriors lift their 4th title in 8-years. KD has been facing a lot of flak off-late, especially after his former team GSW won the chip, while he was swept 4-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
There is no doubt that Durant is one of the biggest villains in the NBA, courtesy of his decision to join the 73-9 Warriors. Despite winning back-to-back Finals MVPs, many believe KD is yet to prove his mettle. Something Hall of Famer Charles Barkley feels too, repeatedly addressing him as a bus driver.
“If you ain’t driving the bus, don’t walk around talkin’ bout you a champion!”
Chuck sounds off on KD’s playoff performance. pic.twitter.com/NSULRff4nD
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 24, 2022
It all began when the Nets were down 0-3 against the Celtics in the first round, with Chuck calling out the four-time scoring champion for his poor performances, addressing him as a bus driver. Nonetheless, KD wasn’t one to keep quiet, throwing shade at the Suns MVP on Instagram.
KD fires back at Charles Barkley for ring chasing pic.twitter.com/3KSMq1OyBC
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 26, 2022
The two would go back and forth, with the subject ultimately running its course. However, with the Warriors winning the chip lately, Barkley has re-ignited the controversy.
Kevin Durant terms the bus driver analogy as terrible.
The decision to take his talents to the Bay Area continues to put an asterisk on Durant’s championships. Many accused the former OKC superstar of being a ring-chaser as he joined the likes of Curry, Thompson, and Green, who had already won a chip before his arrival.
In his three seasons with the Warriors, the team won two championships and would have 3-peated hadn’t it been for Durant’s horrific Achilles injury. Barkley, who has never been a fan of superteams, believed the Slim Reaper was a bus rider to his two championships.
.@CJMcCollum is disagreeing with Charles Barkley’s take on Kevin Durant needing to earn respect from the old heads by winning a title as the bus driver.
“[Kevin Durant] was the bus driver of that team. … His resume speaks for himself. There’s no blemishes on it.” pic.twitter.com/RAbay2toRy
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 20, 2022
During a recent episode of ESPN’s GET UP, CJ McCollum addressed how KD was the bus driver during the Warriors’ run from 2017-19, citing examples of his Finals stats and clutch shots.
As the matter continued to trend on social media, it was only a matter of time before Durant responded.
All this shit is nasty, another terrible analogy from a hatin old head that can’t accept that we making more bread than them. It’s just timing Chucky, don’t hate the playa https://t.co/43BWSuijjV
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 20, 2022
While nobody can deny Durant was the best player when the Warriors won back-to-back, him winning a chip with the Nets will only solidify his case as one of the greatest. In the past, we’ve seen the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James do the same.