Kevin Durant became a major target after the Nets got demolished in the first-round series against the Boston Celtics. Criticism followed him around as he couldn’t take his team home. However, he took serious offense to Hall of Famer Charles Barkley’s comments on his new role. This ignite his petty nature as he took shots at Barkley through his Instagram. However, Chuck’s panel mate, Shaquille O’Neal stood by his criticism.

Coming into the season, the Nets were the favorites to win it all. But to everyone’s utter shock, the two offensive maestros in Irving and KD couldn’t win a single game against the Celtics. With Durant’s tenure with the Nets not seeing any success, Barkley spoke his mind about the situation. The former MVP pointed out that being a leader is different and this didn’t go well with Durant.

Hence, while discussing the entire situation, Shaq spoke in favor of Barkley and said he has earned the right to say such things.

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Shaquille O’Neal stands with Charles Barkley amidst Kevin Durant situation

After Durant’s public attack on Barkley, the NBA on TNT crew took their time to address the issue. Kenny Smith tried to ease up the intense situation by explaining why KD must have felt bad. However, Barkley was against it right off the bat. He didn’t think people who don’t play basketball should get an opinion on such a situation. And Shaquille O’Neal backed his friend.

The Big Diesel said: “Everyone don’t have a say so, we got G-14 classification! Bus driver means it is your team.”

The situation got major out of hand as KD took Barkley’s bus driver comments in the wrong light. His run with the Golden State Warriors received major attention as fans said he couldn’t win without such a team. But with the new revelations, there may be some right in Barkley’s harsh words. Durant was unable to lead to Nets against a gritty Celtics. Being hounded all game and struggling to find a rhythm, it all got too much on the Easy Money Sniper.

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Durant did what he does and averaged 26 points per game. However, diving deeper brings his struggles to the surface. He shot a career-low 38% from the field in the 4 game stretch. Moreover, with a chance to get the game within one, the best scorer of this generation missed a free throw, which led to a transition bucket for the Celtics. This loss hurt Durant’s role as a leader big time. Do you think the Nets can bounce back next season with Ben Simmons suiting up? Let us know in the comments below.