Charles Barkley and Kevin Durant Beef Breakdown: Origins of ?Bus Driver? Quote and Timeline

The last 1.5 years have showcased several battles in the NBA, yet nothing beats the one between Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant and former NBA veteran Charles Barkley. Ever since the 76ers legend brought in the ‘bus driver’ analogy, fans have used it to throw shade at Durant on social media. Yet, that hasn’t stopped KD from clapping back at both Barkley and the fans.

Well, the 2-time champion was unbothered even when Shaquille O’Neal came for Barkley’s support. With 76ers legend Barkley resuming his feud with Durant on Halloween, let’s take a deep look into the timeline of their battle back and forth.?

1.5 years of Charles Barkley vs Kevin Durant

It all started after Durant’s Brooklyn Nets got swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2022 playoffs. Days after the Nets suffered an embarrassing loss, Barkley revealed the famous ‘bus driver’ analogy.?

Barkley absolutely disliked Durant’s championship talks on Twitter and thus one fine day, he decided to put an end to it. It is a fact that Durant has been surrounded by superstars for most of his career. Curry and Thompson in the Warriors, Irving and Harden in the Nets, and now Booker and Beal in the Suns.?

Barkley decided to use this to shade him. The 1993 MVP believes Durant has been a?“bus rider”, rather than a?“bus driver”. ‘Bus driver’ here means a leader who bears all the pressure and also manages to win games. Although many would agree Durant has done it, Barkley and Shaq do not think so.?

When Barkley was questioned if Durant was the ‘bus driver’ with the Golden State Warriors, he instantly denied it. He believes Stephen Curry had more attraction and a pulling force than Durant. Well, this heated up Durant.?

Using Twitter as always, 2-time champion Durant termed Barkley as an ‘old head hater’. In addition, the 2-time Finals MVP shared a picture of Barkley with his former teammates Scottie Pippen, Clyde Drexler, and Hakeem Olajuwon to address the 76ers icon’s take on being the bus driver. Durant shared,?“Where would Chuck be without the big homies”,?calling out Barkley’s hypocorism.?

While the two were having their own battle back and forth, Shaquille O’Neal made a cameo. The Lakers legend shared a simple?“stop it”, addressing Durant’s tweet calling Barkley an?”old head”. Well, KD did not hold back on Shaq as well. The 2014 MVP replied, “he’s grown up, he[Barkley] doesn’t need security Shaquille”.

Things got even worse when Durant joined the Phoenix Suns. Before Durant debuted for the Suns, Barkley shared,?“He’s going to have to win a championship, where he’s the leader of the team and the best player”. The 76ers legend was not ready to give up on his ‘bus driver’ analogy.?

On the other hand, Barkley also believes Durant is over-sensitive when it comes to taking criticism. The 60-year-old thinks the Suns star is not capable of seeing the positives of the criticism. Again, Durant was not having it.?

Read more: ?Chuck Driving The Bus And The Perfect Office Episode..?: NBA Twitter Erupts As Nets Get Roasted In Charles Barkley?s Defense

Back on Twitter, the 35-year-old veteran replied to Barkley,?“This ain?t gettin’ tiring chuck? I?ll never respect the words that come out ya mouth fam just deal with it”. Yikes, that was pretty harsh.?

Now after a long four-month gap, Barkley has resumed the beef with a Halloween costume.?

Charles Barkley is not slowing down on Kevin Durant

While Shaq recreated Jimmy Butler’s media-day look, Barkley dressed as a bus driver, to yet again mock Durant. It was no surprise, however, using a Halloween costume to take his revenge on Durant was a bit weird. Though he did not specifically mention that this was to mock the Suns forward, fans found it to be pretty evident.?

Now, there is a very high possibility that Durant will address this on Twitter once again. As we await it, what are your thoughts on this ongoing beef between the two NBA icons? Who is right? Durant or Barkley? Share your take in the comments below.

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