Kevin Durant Had The Perfect Response To Charles Barkley's Claim That He's Just A Follower And Not A Leader

Chris Coduto. Getty Images.

When Charles Barkley went on TV and took his shots at Kevin Durant during the All Star Game for "being a follower and not a leader"

It wasn't all that surprising. These two have had beef for years now, highlighted a few seasons ago by Chuck going on a whole bus driver vs bus rider rant when it came to KD's career. You can imagine which category he feels KD falls into.

What I was interested was what we were going to get for KD's response. Partly because we've already done this dance a billion times with these two, but also because we know the KD can never just let things slide. It's part of what makes him so entertaining in my opinion, and I actually found his response to be pretty good

You know what, I think I agree with him? You hear all the time about how quiet guys in the league aren't "good leaders" or don't have that "killer instinct". For a lot of fans and media, screaming on the court or being loud is displaying "passion" and "leadership", so if you're not that way they kill you for it. This isn't just a Durant thing, it also happens with other quiet guys like Jokic, Tatum, Kawhi etc. It dates back even further to a classic Duncan vs KG debate. Both guys were exceptional leaders, and both had polar opposite leadership styles. 

With KD, you hear all the time he isn't a "leader" because he had to join a superteam to win a title, and he hasn't won a title since. That's also a little confusing because it suggests that only the players who have won a title can be leaders? How does that make any sense? Only 1 team each year wins the NBA title, so does that mean the best player on that team is the only "leader" in the NBA? That would be insane to say.

Where I think this gets twisted is when you blur the lines between being a "leader" and being the best player on a title team. I think it's entirely possible to have one and not the other. For example, Draymond Green is undoubtedly one of the leaders of the Warriors. Is he ever going to be the best player on a title team? Of course not! But that doesn't make him any less of a leader. 

I'm pretty sure you don't have the success KD has had without putting in the work and setting the example, and any time we hear him talk basketball it's very clear he knows what he's talking about, and it's not like any of us are behind the scenes and in practice where a lot of this leadership nonsense takes place, and that's sort of the problem with media/the internet today. Shitting on KD, calling him a BBB and all that stuff since the GS decision has become the trendy thing to do, even if it doesn't really make a lot of sense. That was not the first superteam in the NBA, yet here we are years later and KD is still getting dragged for it, it's all just weird. Especially from Chuck who tried to ring chase by forming his own superteam back in his Rockets days. 

I don't want to sound like a KD simp or anything with this blog, but this whole debate is so tired and I thought his explanation was a nice peel behind the curtain into how he thinks that it's worth a watch. Granted there will be some who don't watch it and just shit on KD anyway, but that's life in the big city, and ultimately is a product of Durant's own decisions.