Kevin Durant on media questioning his leadership, happiness: 'I haven't sold it enough'

Kevin Durant had a lot to get off his chest after the NBA All-Star Weekend.

The Phoenix Suns' top scorer, and the league's fifth-best (28.2 points per game), spoke with his business partner Rich Kleiman in an interview released on Bleacher Report and Boardroom on Tuesday about the media assuming he lacks leadership qualities.

Durant cited his personality for why he doesn't garner praise in that way.

"I'm not as charismatic as my peers. I don't have a personality that's like, fit for TV. And a lot of those stories of what we talk about don't get spoken about in the media," Durant said. "You got to sell what you're doing as well and I haven't sold it enough. I don't feel like I need to."

The interview came after Suns legend and NBA On TNT personality Charles Barkley called him a "follower, not a leader" through "all his stops" at the conclusion of Sunday's All-Star Game.

Barkley's comment added to many instances in which he and Durant have feuded through the press.

His critique on Durant was focused on how Phoenix's other All-Star Devin Booker will need to take the reins to elevate the Suns to "the next level" if they're going to be successful.

The remark about Durant's stops point to his 17-year career playing for Oklahoma City, Golden State, Brooklyn and Phoenix. He won two titles and two Finals MVPs with Golden State in 2017 and 2018.

The Suns finished this season's first half at 33-22, fifth in the Western Conference standings amid the team's championship expectations led by its Big 3 in Booker, Durant and Bradley Beal. They lost in the 2023 Western Conference semifinals to the eventual champion Denver in Durant's first season with Phoenix.

Durant either indirectly addressed Barkley's comment, or the interview might have been recorded before Barkley made the comment and coincided with its scheduled release.

"I don't feel like I want people to call me a leader, but I also don't want people to say I'm not one either because they don't see what goes on behind the scenes of what I talk about or my intentions or relationships that I've built with my teammates and my support staff," Durant said.

"But when (guys like that) say that, I just got to chalk it up to them just not being aware. Push a narrative for myself, or expose the truth on how great of a leader I am, I don't feel like that's necessary. I just chalk it up to those guys not being aware of who I am."

Suns coach Frank Vogel spoke about Durant's communicative leadership without the "rah-rah stuff" during training camp.

Durant also spoke about the speculation regarding his happiness. That's questioned since he made two trade requests last season from Brooklyn before he was sent to Phoenix in February 2023, left Golden State in 2019 in a sign-and-trade after three years there and joined Golden State as a free agent after his career's first eight years in Oklahoma City.

Rumors swirled about his displeasure in Phoenix when the team struggled as it won just three of 11 games in December, before the Big 3 became fully healthy the next month.

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"There's times where I'm unhappy. That's just human nature. We don't play well as a team, I'm not happy," Durant said. "It may not last for a long time, but I'm not happy for a good four or five hours when I call you (Kleiman) after a bad game, once you accept that we have normal human emotions or reactions.

"Of course, my life is good. Of course, I can't complain about anything, but in the moment when some s--- happens, I'm not gonna fake like I'm not upset about it because I'm living such a great life. No, I want this to work out. Sometimes you being upset helps you figure out a problem."

Things are looking up for the Suns since their big turnaround in January. The Suns went 11-5 last month, matched their season-high seven straight wins and 14-8 when the Big 3 have been in the lineup. Durant and Booker earned Western Conference Player of the Week honors in back-to-back weeks during January, and Durant started in his 14th All-Star appearance.

However, Durant is "never complacent," which he said in his latest collaborative song titled "Scared Money" with Ohio-bred rapper Stalley. The track went viral for KD's impressive rhyme skills after that was released on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns' Kevin Durant addresses media questioning his leadership