Charles Barkley talks social media with Kevin Durant

In a chat with Kevin Durant and Eddie Gonzales, Charles Barkley addressed how social media has an impact on the NBA and its players.

In a new interview, Charles Barkley sat down with Kevin Durant and Eddie Gonzales to discuss the ways social media can impact NBA players. Barkley chatted with Durant and Gonzales on Durant’s podcast, The ETCs, from which a segment was shared to YouTube.

“Man, we’ve done… I’ve done some crazy things,” Barkley said. “And, if we had social media, it would have just thrown more gasoline on the fire. But, the thing with all the social media is they’re making so much more money today.”

Check out the clip below:

Charles Barkley discussed impacts of social media with Kevin Durant

Barkley raises some interesting points and he’s definitely more than qualified to speak up about these sorts of matters.

While he’s an entertaining basketball figure now as a commentator who discusses what is happening in the sport, he certainly used to grab everyone’s attention back when he played in the NBA.

As Barkley acknowledged, he’s “done some crazy things.” Had social media existed back during his NBA playing days, there’s almost no doubt that he would’ve been a key figure people discussed at length online on a daily basis. People do that today and he’s not even playing anymore.

There’s also a loss of privacy that inherently comes with social media. Athletes and celebrities tend to experience that just in the same way that the average individual does as well.

But, there is a potential benefit to the existence of social media: the opportunity to more effectively monetize a person’s presence. Players are able to build their brands in new ways and find new streams of income.

Durant is among those athletes who have found new avenues to make some money, such as his ventures into media with podcasting and such. The Brooklyn Nets star is also active on social media and has a history of discussing things with fans on Twitter.