Charles Barkley is one of the most opinionated men in the world of basketball. As a former league MVP, he brings a lot of legitimacy with everything that he has to say.
Barkley has usually defended the old school of basketball and regularly uses his platform on Inside the NBA to criticize aspects of the modern game he doesn’t like. Whether it is the increasing contracts or players shooting too many 3s.
The right way to win a championship in old-school basketball is to lead the team that drafted you to it. That’s what NBA legends have done, and we’ve seen Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry do that in the last 2 seasons. Someone who didn’t do that is Kevin Durant, who left the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Golden State Warriors, where he won 2 championships as part of one of the most feared superteams of all time.
Durant recently tried to make a move away from the Brooklyn Nets via trade after frustration with the team building over the last season over alleged broken promises. Barkley doesn’t care for that, ripping into KD by saying old guys don’t respect him because he has never been the leader of a successful team before calling the 2-time Finals MVP ‘Mr. Miserable’.
“All the old guys, he get mad we say it, (but) he piggybacked on the Warriors to win his first two championships. But if you go back and look at his career, as the best player and being the leader that all goes with that, he’s been an abject failure. Every time he’s had to be the leader and best player, he has not had success. That’s what us old guys think about him.”
“He seems like a miserable person, man. I call him Mr. Miserable, he’s never going to be happy. Everybody’s given him everything on a silver platter. He was the man in Oklahoma City, they loved him, he owned the entire state. He bolts on them and wins back-to-back championships (with Golden State), and he’s still not happy. Then he goes to Brooklyn, they give him everything he wants, and he’s still miserable.” (h/t Heavy)
Durant is one of the best players of his generation, possibly only outmatched by the likes of Stephen Curry and LeBron James. However, these opinions are valid if people want to hold NBA superstars to that standard.
The standards are shifting nowadays with player movement. As LeBron has proven through his various moves, players can manage their power while respecting their contracts. KD had 4 years on his contract with the Nets, which makes his trade request seem incredulous.
Barkley may have been excessive in his criticism, but he just said out loud what many people have been thinking about KD. Whether Durant cares is a different question, as he will always be ready to prove everyone wrong on the court.
