Phoenix Suns player Kevin Durant is a follower, not a leader, according to Hall of Famer Charles Barkley, who made this claim during a TruTV alternative broadcast of the 2024 NBA All-player Game.
Ever since Durant joined the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in 2016, Barkley has been critical of the player.
“I don’t mean to offend Kevin. Kevin is an adherent. He lacks leadership qualities. On every stop, he has demonstrated that,” Barkley remarked.
In the 2016 Western Conference Finals, Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder let the Warriors down after holding a 3-1 lead. Durant joined the Dubs in the summer of 2016 after Golden State lost the 2016 NBA Finals in seven games to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In 2017 and 2018, the Warriors won consecutive championships, and Durant was named MVP of the Finals both times. However, after departing the Warriors in the summer of 2019, KD has failed to return to the NBA Finals.
During a comprehensive interview for Durant’s platform, Boardroom, Rich Kleiman, KD’s agent, questioned him over Barkley’s remarks.
Durant declared, “I don’t feel like I want people to call me a leader.” “But I also don’t want people to say that I’m not one because they don’t understand my motivations, my relationships with my teammates and support staff, or what goes on behind the scenes in what I talk about.”
Barkley has expressed disapproval of Durant and his team exits. Barkley referred to Durant as “very sensitive” and “part of a generation that can’t be criticized” in a March 2023 interview with CBS.
Despite playing with James Harden and Kyrie Irving, Durant and the Brooklyn Nets were unable to bring home a championship. If the Texas product, along with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, wins a ring in Phoenix, only time will tell.
Durant remarked, “I’m not as charismatic as my peers.” Unlike my classmates, I don’t have a personality that works well on television. I haven’t done a good enough job of selling what I’m doing; you have to do the same. It doesn’t seem necessary to me. Although I don’t think I need to be called a leader, I also don’t think I want to be told I’m not one.
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