Charles Barkley didn’t hold back over the weekend when he sounded off on Kevin Durant after the Nets fell into a 3–0 hole in their opening-round playoff series against the Celtics. The Hall of Fame forward and current TNT analyst referred to the All-Star forward as a “bus rider,” saying, “If you ain’t driving the bus, don’t walk around talkin’ ‘bout you a champion!”
Unsurprisingly, Durant didn’t take Barkley’s comments lightly. Durant took to social media Tuesday morning following Brooklyn’s postseason elimination to make some pointed messages of his own.
On his Instagram story, Durant appeared to respond to Barkley’s “bus rider” criticism by posting a series of photos of Chuck alongside other NBA All-Stars during his playing career. The first two pictures showed Barkley standing next to the likes of fellow Hall of Famers Scottie Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler during his stint with the Rockets at the tail end of his career.
Durant didn’t stop there. In the next two slides of his Instagram story, the two-time Finals MVP referenced the beginning of Barkley’s playing days with the 76ers, when he took the floor with stars like Julius Erving, Moses Malone and Maurice Cheeks.
“Where would Chuck be without the big homies,” Durant wrote alongside a picture of Barkley’s early team in Philadelphia.
Durant has caught plenty of flak over the years from Barkley and others for joining up with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on the Warriors from 2016 to ’19. Golden State won two titles during Durant’s three seasons with the team, but the 33-year-old forward has not won another championship during his otherwise accomplished career.
The latest playoff blunder for Durant came Monday night when his Nets were swept by the Celtics in the first round. The 12-time All-Star put up 39 points in the final game, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Brooklyn from falling at home, 116–112.
With another season over, Durant will now head into the summer where he’ll surely hear more discussion about his postseason résumé. Critics like Barkley would be wise to exercise caution as the Nets star has shown time and time again that he isn’t afraid to fire back.
