Kevin Durant responds to Barkley's bus drivers and riders analogy / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AP, USA TODAY Sports-Scanpix Credit AP, USA TODAY Sports-Scanpix

The Brooklyn Nets were swept off the opening round of the 2022 NBA playoff series by the Boston Celtics in Game 4.

Kevin Durant

MIN:37.75PTS:29.55 (61.88%)REB:7.23As:6.45ST:0.9BL:0.93TO:3.55GM:60ProfileNBA2021/2022

Kevin Durant could not carry his team to the next stage, averaging 26.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.3 assists over 4 contests.

Nevertheless, the NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley expected more out of Durant, especially during the most important time of the season.

The former player ripped the two-time champion (2017, 2018) apart for being a "bus rider" but not a "bus driver".

"Please don't tell me you're a great, great player and you're averaging 20 (points per game)," Barkley said after Game 3. "I don't think I ever played in the playoffs and averaged 20. I don't want to bad-mouth a dude but you guys always talk about championship stuff.

I try to tell you all, all these bus riders, they don't mean anything to me. If you ain't driving the bus, don't walk around talking about you a champion. If you're riding the bus, I don't wanna hear it. All these guys walking around with championship rings, you are all bus riders. When you the bus driver and you get all that pressure, when you have to play well or you're gonna get the blame, that's a different animal."

For his part, Kevin Durant did not leave this theme. After the losing effort in Game 4, he responded to Barkley on social media, asking rhetorically: "Where would Charles be without the big homies?"

The 33-year-old implied Clyde Drexler, Scottie Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, and Julius Erving, who played with Barkley in the Philadelphia 76ers (1984-1992) and Houston Rockets (1996-2000).

The 1993 Finals was the only appearance of Charles Barkley's Hall of Fame career. He and the Phoenix Suns lost the ultimate series against the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan in front.

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