There are not many people on our planet who know basketball better than Shaquille O’Neal. Four-time NBA champion, NBA MVP in 2000, 15-time All-Star, he has the authority to talk and talk about the players of the best league in the world like no one else. But what made Diesel verbally attack his “favorite” Rudy Gobert again? Their story began a long time ago. Let’s find out what Shaq said this time.
On the GOAT Talk show, Shaquille and his son Miles O’Neal discussed a number of topics and touched on the question of who is the worst player in the NBA. The legendary basketball player answered almost without hesitation: Rudy Gobert. Diesel continued: “Ben Simmons is also a loser. If you sign a contract for 250 million dollars, then show me this 250 million dollars. I walk funny, I can’t turn my head because I got my 120 million dollars back. And here the guys who twisted the system at will got that kind of money. Money and nothing. The devil can’t play. I don’t respect guys like that. These are the real facts. Teachers, firefighters and doctors have real jobs, but they don’t get paid anything.”
And who doesn’t get their money’s worth in the NBA?
Millions down the drain? The best NBA players who don’t deserve their money
Over the past few years, the now-famous analyst and pundit Shaquille has constantly put Gobert down with or without reason. After the Utah Jazz gave the French center the third-largest contract in the NBA at $205 million, Diesel mocked Rudy: “I don’t want to act like a hater, but this should be an inspiration and an incentive for kids. If you score 11 points per game in the NBA, you can make $200 million.”
Then Shaquille, after the first game of the Paris Olympics, fooled Gobert again. Brazilian Joao Cardoso scored over Rudy, leaving him flat on his back. O’Neal couldn’t help but post a funny photo.
Shaquille O’Neal posted a meme about Rudy Gobert
Photo: Shaquille O’Neal’s social media page
Even before this, there was a time when the Los Angeles Lakers legend and the entire NBA posted a photo of himself dunking through Gobert. But this time, after Diesel called the Frenchman the worst player, Rudy’s nerves gave way and he responded to the basketball star. “It’s sad to see how someone who has reached such heights in sports and business can’t calm down when it comes to someone else’s finances and achievements. I understand that this is part of the program, but unlike others, you don’t need all this to stay relevant,” Gobert wrote on his social network page.
Gobert’s rise began in Utah, but time and again the club led by Quin Snyder failed to go far in the playoffs. In many ways, the blame fell on Rudy due to the fact that he can only show his best game near the paint, but if he was brought closer to the three-point arc, then the Jazzmen began to have big problems, which the clubs often took advantage of. As a result, they decided to trade him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where the center again became the cornerstone of the team’s defense.
Rudy Gobert for the Utah Jazz
Photo: Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
However, this time it turned out better: the Wolves reached the Western Conference finals, where they were defeated by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in the battle against Dallas, and have never made it to the NBA finals. On paper, the Frenchman is one of the best players in the league: four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, seven All-Defensive First Team selections, four All-NBA selections and three All-Star appearances are the hallmarks of a great player?
However, Shakil, apparently, is not at all impressed by such achievements. He continues to point out almost all of Rudy’s bad matches, but he does not realize how much hard work the Frenchman puts in. Statistics do not always reflect the essence of what is happening on the court. However, Diesel’s head works differently. If you do not give a lot of points to your opponent’s head, you are a nobody and there is no way to match you. In fact, O’Neal’s discontent has more to do with Gobert’s softness, with the fact that now this type of basketball player can not only make a name for himself in the NBA, but be one of the best for many years to come. This is probably what hurts the league legend the most.
It’s still unclear how the hatchet will be buried between Shaq and Rudy. And it’s hard to call it a war, as it would be more appropriate to call it one-sided attacks. The public ridicule of Gobert continues, although more worthy of it is the one whom Diesel named second on his list: Ben Simmons, who receives a lot of money and has played 57 regular-season games in the last three seasons. And after moving to another club, he has greatly regressed, which cannot be said of the Frenchman, who helped Minnesota reach the Western Conference final for the first time in 20 years.
An incredible season awaits us:
Next season, Curry could set a record that will (probably) never be broken.
