In today’s edition of “NBA era beef” we have Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley.
Barkley appeared on ESPN’s First Take and was asked about KD joining the Suns and his thoughts on KD needing to win a championship without a superteam and as always he didn’t hold back. He mentioned a LeBron James quote that may or may not exist and Kobe Bryant saying he needed to win a championship without Shaq so the old guys would get off his back. Also saying he is holding KD to the same standards as those guys.
KD saw the clip and couldn’t help but realize the Lebron quote seemed a little off and asked to be sent the quote because he doesn’t remember him saying it. I went about looking up if there was a specific quote from James about that and this is the closest I found.
Lebron James left Miami Heat because he wanted to prove to the world that he could win a championship with multiple teams. He had entered the league as one of the most sought-after prospects and quickly displayed his prowess in his first stint with Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron had won multiple individual awards but was never able to win the coveted NBA Championship ring. In his own words, the reason why LeBron James joined Miami in 2010 was:
To have the best opportunity to win now and to win into the future also.
After going to four consecutive NBA finals and winning two of them, LeBron James knew that it was possible. It was around this point in his career when many basketball fans were making the case that he was better than Michael Jordan.
However, it was widely accepted that LeBron James success at Miami Heat was due to the elite supporting cast and many wondered if he could win championships with a non super team. The need to cement his legacy was the reason why Lebron James left Miami.
There are no exact quotes, though.
The “beef” between the generations seems like it’ll never end because both sides just want respect.
Flip the page to see more.