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“Sorry Kevin Durant, I’m leaning towards Charles Barkley”: Shaquille O’Neal reacts controversially to beef between $200 million Nets man and TNT analyst

Tonoy Sengupta
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4x NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal slams Kevin Durant's $196M worth decision to leave Brooklyn

NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal gives his verdict on the ongoing beef between Nets man Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley

Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley have quite the conversation going, don’t they?

In case you may not be aware of what exactly happened here, take a look at the tweet below for all the details you’ll need.

Hope you don’t have a sensitive tongue because this beef seems to be insanely spicy.

Since this exchange, multiple people within the NBA community have come forward with their opinion on the matter. Heck, even CJ McCollum came out in strong disagreement with the Chuckster’s opinion.

But what about Shaquille O’Neal? What does the NBA’s former big bad, and current TNT analyst have to say on the matter?

Well, on a recent episode of his show, ‘The Big Podcast’, Shaq gave a real in-depth explanation before revealing his choice. And let’s just say, it’s an interesting one, to say the least.

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Shaquille O’Neal reveals why he sides with Charles Barkley in his comments against Kevin Durant in recent beef

Surprise. Surprise! The old head joins up with his fellow old head, right?

Not quite.

Before we say anything else though, here is what Shaq vocalized on the matter.

“Back in the old days, everybody competed against each other. How many times did Magic (Johnson) lose to Isiah (Thomas)? How many times did Isiah lose to (Larry) Bird?… Back in our day, we caught the end of that…

Back in our day, you had to compete to get that respect. Now, the way Mr. KD (Kevin Durant) did it, it was sort of in an old school way. They lose to a team, then he joins that team that beat him. Then he wins 2 championships. He made it easier.

I understand everybody’s philosophy and thought process, but I’m going to have to go with Chuck (Charles Barkley) on this one.”

Frankly, as far as opinions from the older generation go, this one is pretty darn reasonable.

While it doesn’t discredit his rings completely, Kevin Durant absolutely made it easier on himself to win a couple. Heck, that’s probably even part of the reason why he left Golden State, despite it being a perfect situation.

But, does that mean that Chuck was right? No way.

To go as far as to say Kevin Durant shouldn’t talk about his championships because, in his words, KD wasn’t ‘riding the bus’, is insane.

Sure, Durant may not have been the undisputed best player on those dominant Golden State teams. But, he was also a massive, massive part of the reason the team is in the conversation for perhaps the greatest team of all time.

So, for crying out loud, Chuck! Give this man his flowers, already!

Also Read: “Dennis Rodman would be proud of Jeremy Sochan!”: New San Antonio Spurs player set to wear the Bulls legend’s number and also has a penchant for colored hair

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta

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Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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