NBA Legend Shaquille O’Neal gives his verdict on the ongoing beef between Nets man Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley
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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.
Kevin Durant responded to Charles Barkley’s “bus driver” take on Twitter by calling him a “hatin’ old head” who’s jealous of the money he’s making.
Thoughts? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/pxR1y8i0AC
— NBA Buzz (@OfficialNBABuzz) June 21, 2022
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.
“I strongly, strongly disagree with Charles Barkley… [Kevin Durant] was the bus driver of that team. … His resume speaks for itself. There’s no blemishes on it.”
🗣️ CJ McCollumpic.twitter.com/Y0wvWLsOxk
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 20, 2022
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.
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!