Kevin Durant responds to latest critique from Charles Barkley

Charles Barkley believes Kevin Durant needs to win a championship with the Phoenix Suns to be considered one of the greatest players in history, but the two-time NBA Finals MVP insists he doesn’t care what Chuck thinks.

Barkley has long maintained that Durant won’t really cement his legacy unless he wins an NBA title as clearly his team’s best player and leader. The Hall of Famer reiterated that stance during an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take” earlier this week.

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Charles Barkley says there is no difference between LeBron going to the Heat and KD going to the Warriors pic.twitter.com/bwJWslatnD

— First Take (@FirstTake) February 27, 2023

“Kevin gets mad at me if I point that out,” Barkley said. “If you go back and look at LeBron (James), who I really admire and respect, he said that. I did not say that. (He said, “I had to win a championship without Dwyane Wade to get the respect of the old guys.” That’s what Kobe Bryant said too. He said, ‘I have to win a championship without Shaq to get rid of these old heads.’ I hold Kevin Durant to the same criteria. I don’t care what the media says. I don’t care what the fans say.

“He’s an all-time great. But when it comes to being mentioned with some of these other guys, he needs to win a championship where he’s the leader of the team and the best player.

As almost always, Durant felt the need to react. He told Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill Thursday that old-school NBA players like Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal hold an unfair standard of him.

“Because at this point they’re saying go play with Scoot Henderson and win a championship and then we’re going to give you credit,” Durant said. “I need no credit from you all, no credit from (Barkley), no credit from Shaq. You never have to watch me play again, don’t talk about me unless you (rock) with me. I won’t stop doing what I’m doing. Everyone has their opinion, man. It won’t stop me and how I approach the game.

For those wondering, Henderson is a 19-year-old playing in the NBA G League.

Durant then downplayed any talk that he needed to be the leader of a team. He said he will leave that to Suns head coach Monty Williams.

“As far as I lead a team, I don’t have to coach a team,” added Durant. “Whatever happens, we’ll do it together. (Monty is) the leader, he’s the coach. The GM assembles the team. I should go outside and jump. That’s my job.”

Though he claims he doesn’t feel he has anything to prove to Barkley or any other NBA legend, Durant has never been able to sit still while being criticized. Barkley infamously called Durant the “bus driver” in the playoffs a while ago, and Durant couldn’t let that go either.