“F*ck You Charles Barkley”: Thankless Kevin Durant Reminds NBA Legend of Kobe Bryant and How He Started a Slippery Slope

The NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is arguably one of the most popular NBA analysts in recent times. The Phoenix Suns’ legend is known for his honest and brutal takes on players during his analysis. Barkley’s honest opinions on camera have often backfired, prompting players to respond back on several occasions. Similarly, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant recently reminded Chuck of a Kobe Bryant story from the 2006 NBA playoffs. Barkley’s comment post a playoffs game on Live TV frustrated Bryant and he lashed out at him severely that night, setting a dangerous precedent.

Barkley has made a successful career as an analyst after his retirement. He emerged as a fan favorite due to his humorous approach to sports analysis, alongside his honesty, simplicity and wit. Chuck never shied away from criticizing stars and superstars on his shows. In a recent podcast appearance, he revealed the outcomes of his honest opinions on camera.

Kevin Durant reminds Chuck of a brutal Kobe Bryant memory

In an exclusive clip of an upcoming All The Smoke interview, Charles Barkley spoke about the ungrateful treatment he receives from current NBA players. The 11x NBA All-Star went on to say that he doesn’t receive gratitude for his appreciating words but always receives heat for criticisms. He dragged Kevin Durant’s name as a recent example to explain it better.

Barkley said, “I have been saying for three years, that dude is the best basketball player in the world. He never called me and said ‘thank you’.“

“KD played like shit tonight, hey fu** you, Charles Barkley, I’m getting that on Twitter,” he added. The NBA veteran further said, “They never called me and said hey man thank you for your kind words, okay but if I say one bad thing..They go off on me.”

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However, the whole ungrateful treatment reminded Chuck of a Kobe Bryant memory from the 2006 NBA playoffs. During game 7 of the playoffs’ first round matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Suns, Bryant surprised everyone with his gameplay as he refused to take shots to prove a point to coach Phil Jackson. Notably, the Mamba took only three shots in the second half.

Following the game, Chuck called Bryant “selfish” on camera. The Lakers legend, severely upset with Chuck’s comment, texted him repeatedly that night to give him a piece of his mind. Barkley revealed that those messages included a violent outburst of expletives from the Lakers legend. Eventually, the duo hugged it out after two months.

The Mamba’s reply to Chuck’s statement

Kobe Bryant joined the ‘Inside the NBA’ crew after the playoffs loss alongside Charles Barkley. The duo was seen smiling at each other. While responding to his criticisms, Bryant said, “The important part is that we go out there and play the game, we play the game to win. Obviously, we had a strategy that worked very well for us in three games. We tried to keep the strategy going in game seven and other games as well, but it didn’t work out for us,”

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