Shaquille O’Neal has never backed down from speaking his mind. Whether it revolves around Steve Nash’s MVP awards or his differing opinion from Inside the NBA co-host Charles Barkley, O’Neal will continue to express himself. He has always been passionate about evaluating players of this era in comparison to his own. He believes there are a few who could make the transition, but Shaq infamously mentions one who couldn’t.
O’Neal has accepted the moniker of a Russian judge since entering retirement. When it comes to analyzing players, he walks down a path of tough love. That applies to nearly every player he talks about except for Rudy Gobert.
The four-time NBA champion’s feud with Gobert has gone on since 2019. It began after O’Neal called out Gobert for crying after an All-Star snub. Despite Gobert’s defensive abilities, his lack of offensive skillset has seemingly turned O’Neal into a hater.
“Rudy Gobert couldn’t play with us, and he wouldn’t be making [$200 million],” O’Neal said on The Big Podcast.
Shaq’s comments came directly after he asked Zach Randolph to list a few players he believes could play in their era. Instead of getting the ball rolling, listing guys who could, O’Neal named the one player he believes couldn’t.
Randolph responded with a hearty laugh but elected not to fuel more fuel to the fire. He went on to name a few big men he believes could hold their own against them. Ivica Zubac, Julius Randle, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo were on Randolph’s shortlist.
The two-time All-Star knew better than to mention the Timberwolves‘ center among those names. After all, O’Neal’s criticism of the four-time Defensive Player of the Year wasn’t the only time he threw shots at the Frenchman.
The two former NBA stars discussed the plausibility of whether they could succeed with their play style in the modern NBA. It’s hard for O’Neal to give a solid answer to the question. One thing he does know is that Randolph and he would be making a lot of money.
“A lot of people don’t understand that you look at people and what they’re doing. I’m attacking Rudy Gobert, who’s making $250 million. I’m going to tell my agent I want that deal. Now, 250 is the starting point,” O’Neal proclaimed.
Whenever O’Neal gets the opportunity to speak about Gobert, it is like a volcano erupting. As things currently stand, it doesn’t seem the two will ever see eye-to-eye.
