Back in 2022, the Charles Barkley Kevin Durant comments created a rift between the two that has lasted to this day. After the Brooklyn Nets got swept by the Boston Celtics, Barkley insinuated that Durant’s championships with the Warriors weren’t legitimate: “All these bus riders. They don’t mean nothing to me. If you ain’t driving the bus, don’t walk around talking about you a champion… All these guys walking around with championship rings, ya’ll bus riders. When you the bus driver and you’ve got all that pressure where you have to play well or you’re gonna get the blame. That’s a different animal.”
Durant eventually responded with a tweet questioning where Barkley would be without his teammates during his career. Despite this back-and-forth, Durant has not had very much playoff success since leaving the Bay Area, managing just multiple short stints with teams, and has failed to reach the Conference Finals since 2019. With the Rockets on the brink of collapse against a short-handed Lakers team in a chaotic NBA Playoffs so far, Barkley’s critique still rings true in 2026.
Why The Charles Barkley Kevin Durant Critique Is Valid
The fact of the matter is that Durant has always been a better Robin than he is a Batman. With the dynamic trio of him, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook early in his career, the Thunder only made the NBA Finals once (2012), where they got clobbered 4-1 by the LeBron James-led Miami Heat. After losing the 2016 Western Conference Finals to the Warriors in seven games, Durant joined Golden State in the middle of its historic run. He went 2-1 in the Finals as a member of the Warriors. His last games in the Bay Area were a 4-2 loss to the Raptors in 2019.
Durant has yet to advance past the Conference Semifinals since leaving the Warriors, which raises questions about his ability to lead without a “super-team” around him. During a tumultuous stint with the Brooklyn Nets, a second-round defeat in seven games at the hands of the Bucks was the high-water mark for his time there. Durant’s run with the Suns was more of the same, with another loss in the Conference Semifinals in 2023 and a first-round sweep in 2024. It seems unlikely that the Rockets will bounce back against the Lakers, but even if they do, recent history does not bode well for the prolific scorer’s team in the playoffs.
Durant occupies a curious spot in NBA history. On one hand, he is one of the greatest scorers that the game has ever seen. On the other hand, his two championships with the Warriors look more fraudulent with each passing year. Durant is not like James or Kobe Bryant, who elevate their teams; he fills a role on any team he is on. He is the epitome of a “bus rider”: he is arguably the best at what he does, but he will never be considered a great NBA champion like James or Stephen Curry.
