Kevin Durant is ready to play a new NBA season with the Houston Rockets. If he leads the franchise to the playoffs, it would be an excellent opportunity to prove Charles Barkley wrong. The Hall of Famer has dismissed him as a player on several occasions.
Even though Durant has played alongside top-tier stars, he has not won a championship. Barkley once used that to call Durant a “bus driver.”
A sharp response to Barkley
According to Firstsportz, Barkley argued that the 15-time All-Star wasn’t good enough to carry a team to a championship. Durant responded on Netflix’s Starting 5.
Kevin Durant responds to the Charles Barkley “Bus Driver” comments
“I done rode the bus, I done filled the gas tank up, I was the gas , I was the wheels , I was the axle, I was the breaks , all different given parts , I played every role for that team”— 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘢☆ (@Stunna999_) October 16, 2025
“I traveled on the bus, filled the gas tank, was the fuel, the wheels, the axle, the brakes—every single part given. I was in the back of the bus, playing every role for that team,” Kevin Durant said, referring to his time with the Golden State Warriors. He believes Barkley’s criticism is completely wrong.
Barkley claimed Durant didn’t matter in the Warriors’ championship run. Regarding this, the 6′11″ forward said: “He never knew what it meant to set aside his ego to help a city, a community, win a championship. It was all about him—his whole life, his whole career. All about how he feels, how he wants to speak, how he can say anything to anyone, because I’m Charles Barkley, I can say whatever.”
Durant argues that just because Barkley can say whatever he wants, it doesn’t mean he’s right. Barkley has the freedom to speak, but he doesn’t always tell the truth.
Still, Durant doesn’t care about these opinions, since Barkley himself never led the Sixers to a title during his NBA career.
