It was only a matter of time before we heard Charles Barkley’s opinion. Since Kevin Durant made his decision to go to the Golden State Warriors, there has been plenty of talk about the forward’s choice. Many have come to his defense, praising him for making a difficult choice in the face of scrutiny. Many others have criticized him for taking the easy way out and joining a super team.
Barkley, to no one’s surprise, falls in the second category. In an appearance on ESPN’s Mike and Mike, Barkley had the following to say (h/t to Pro Basketball Talk for the transcription):
“Kevin is a terrific player, he’s a good kid. But just disappointed with the fact that he weakened another team and he’s gonna kind of gravy train on a terrific Warriors team. Just disappointed from a competitive standpoint.”
Well you know, Barkley has a point. We should want all of our stars to play for one team and never chase rings elsewhere.
Remember when Charles Barkley chased a ring in Houston with Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon? He doesn’t.
Look, it’s great when star players play for one team and win titles there. But we shouldn’t think too differently of another player for choosing to find a better opportunity for himself on and off the court.
We put a premium on rings when discussing players’ legacies. Is it any wonder that they look for the best opportunity to win them?
In fact, Barkley admitted as much in the same interview:
“We develop this thing where you keep telling these guys, ‘Hey man, if you don’t win a championship you’re a bum.’ I don’t feel like a bum,” he said. “I’m pretty sure Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and John Stockton — we think we’re pretty damn good. We could have played with some of those other guys and kind of cheated our way to a championship. But there is this thing that started with this new generation where these guys feel so much pressure. Everybody wants to win.”
Yeah, Charles! You’re right!
But you also did the thing where you played with other stars to try and win a championship. It just didn’t work out. Let’s not forget that.
