Suns star Kevin Durant responded to Charles Barkley's comments about his leadership style and abilities.
Kevin Durant It has a long history of not enjoying being in second place.
From being the second-best team in his high school to being selected second in the 2007 draft, he has been known to say that he was “tired of being second.” Perhaps that's why he took time on Tuesday to respond opinions of Charles Barkley During an alternate exchange Star game on TruTV.
“No disrespect to Kevin. Follower of Kevin. He is not the leader. He showed that in all his stops,” Barkley said during the game. “(Devin) Booker is a great player. I think he needs to take the initiative and lead this team Suns On to the next level… But I said the same thing to Boston: One of your guys has to step up, he has to step up, and for me, for Phoenix to win, it has to be Booker.
Barkley has been open about Durant and his departure from teams. In a March 2023 interview with CBS, Barkley called him “very sensitive” and “part of a generation that cannot be criticized”.
In a wide-ranging interview with Durant-owned site Boardroom, his agent, Rich Kleiman, asked him about Barkley's recent comments and his image in the league.
“I don't want people to call me a leader, but I don't want them to say I'm not one because they don't see what I'm talking about or what's going on behind my scenes. My goals or the relationships I've built with my teammates and my support staff,” Durant said.
He also said that critics of his leadership “don't understand” his leadership style.
On Wednesday, Suns coach Frank Vogel defended Durant on the Bigley & Marotta show.
“He definitely leads by example, but he also speaks up when needed,” Vogel said. “Not every player is going to be blah, blah,” Vogel said. “Every player leads in their own way. You must lead within your personality. I learned a long time ago as a coach that even though he encouraged me as a coach, I couldn't go in and try to be Rick Pitino. Our personalities are different. “
Durant's personality also came out in the boardroom interview, in which he acknowledged why questions about his style are being raised.
“I'm not as attractive as my peers; “I don't have the television personality that my colleagues do,” he said. “You have to sell what you're doing, and I didn't sell it enough. I don't feel like I need that, I don't feel like I need people to call me a leader, but I don't want people to say I'm not one.”
Durant addressed the conversation about “the greatest of all time” and whether he should be among those mentioned. Kleiman asked Durant if he knew he had an 'asterisk' next to his name in NBA history.
“I feel like I've accomplished things on the court and I've been in situations that the biggest guys have seen, so I feel like I can talk basketball with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or LeBron James. As much as we did, but what you saw out there, I saw the same things.
