In a recent episode of his podcast, The Big Podcast, basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal made some controversial comments about Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert. On the podcast, O’Neal said he “never thought he was a great defender“:
I never thought he was a great defensive player… See, what it is, there’s not a lot of centers that are making him play defense. Like, he’s not doing that s**t against Joker… He’s 7’6″, of course, if you lay it up, he’s going to block it. But defense to me is guard that guy and shut him down. You want to impress me? Hold Joker under 15 points. All that weakside shot blocking, that’s cool. But it’s not going to work against guys like me and Joker.
Gobert is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, winning the award in 2018, 2019, and 2021, all with the Utah Jazz. Furthermore, the French native has been selected to six NBA All-Defensive First Teams and was the league’s block leader in 2017. Currently, Gobert (-800) has the best odds to win the award again this year. This would be his fourth time winning the award, which would move him into a three-way tie for most such awards in a career (Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace).
O’Neal didn’t stop there, however, as he also called out Gobert’s stats and pay:
If I were 42, I’d be making Rudy Gobert money. Twelve points and eight rebounds? I could do that s**t right now… making $250 million… averaging twelve points.
Shaquille O’Neal Calls Out Former Defensive Player of the Year
Shaquille O’Neal Has a History of Calling Out Rudy Gobert
Believe it or not, this is not the only time O’Neal has publicly criticized Gobert. In fact, O’Neal first made a public comment about Gobert after being upset about an All-Star snub in 2019. Additionally, back in 2021, O’Neal criticized the extension the Jazz gave Gobert at the time. Furthermore, in 2022, O’Neal talked about dominating Gobert in a hypothetical one-on-one battle. Although Gobert has publicly responded to O’Neal, he says “there is no beef” between the two big men:
There is no beef. If people wanna keep speaking negatively about me or keep discrediting what i do it’s on them and all that does is show who they are. I will always be happy for a brother beating the odds. And i’m gonna keep beating the odds.
Rudy Gobert This year:
13.7 PPG
12.9 RPG
2.1 BPG
65 FG%
65 FT% (Would be Shaq’s Career High)
104.2 Defensive Rating (Leads NBA)
Anchors the best defense in the NBA.Disrespect needs to stop https://t.co/A5cpL8NGzg pic.twitter.com/NSXohbCzA7
— MNMuse (@statmusewolves) March 13, 2024
The Last Word
It’s pretty clear that Gobert’s not on the same level as O’Neal. In his prime, O’Neal could match up against any NBA player past or present. However, Gobert is a good big man and plays a vital role on the Timberwolves. In large part due to Gobert’s game, the 45-21 Timberwolves currently have the league’s best Defensive Rating. As he aims for his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, Gobert has made an impact in the league so far. It will be interesting to see if Gobert can match this record.
