Charles Barkley responds to Kevin Durant’s ‘bus rider’ Instagram rebuttal

By Malik Brown
Apr 27, 2022
1:01 pm

Charles Barkley and Kevin Durant won’t stop going at each other.

After the Brooklyn Nets were swept against the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs on April 25, Charles Barkley criticized Durant for not being a leader on the team. He used the term “bus rider” to describe Durant, saying that he was a sidekick while playing alongside Stephen Curry in Golden State.

On April 26, Durant responded to Barkley’s comments by posting pictures of the Hall of Famer when he played with the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia 76ers.

KD responds to Charles Barkley calling him a 'bus rider' 💀 pic.twitter.com/pAHRfFIZvR

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 26, 2022

After Durant’s Instagram post, he went on Twitter and continued to troll Barkley.

An army of producers against the god. Just Another Tuesday https://t.co/yxHlYT8Efl

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) April 26, 2022

Later that evening, Barkley responded to Durant’s rebuttal of his statement, but it looked like he was trying to take the high road instead of escalating the situation.

“You think they put that play-in banner up yet,” Barkley said on TNT. “Listen, I could put up stuff about him [Durant] and Russell and James and Serge Ibaka. Listen, KD’s a great player. Only point I was making: life is different when you’re driving the bus.”

The TNT crew continued their discussion on the term “bus rider,” and what a champion means in their eyes. Barkley admitted that his lack of a title keeps him from being at the table with some of the greats.

“When I’m in the room with other Hall of Famers, I don’t get to sit at their table. That’s the way it is. They are champions,” Barkley.

To end the night on a funny note, TNT surprised Barkley with his own bus, and Kenny Smith, Shaq and Ernie Johnson all got in as Barkley drove them off the set.