It’s been a hot minute since we talked about the ongoing “discussion” between our man Shaq and Minnesota Timberwolves star center Rudy Gobert. Time for an update. This time, another former NBA superstar has weighed in.
Notice, careful reader, that we are not calling this a “beef.” It’s not really a fight – verbal or otherwise – between O’Neal and Gobert. More like a slow-moving, sometimes heated, sometimes not, exchange of views and ideas between the two. O’Neal himself has even talked about how he’s got no beef with Gobert… but he would like to see more action, more physical play from the Wolves star.
Yet even Shaq has said he recognizes the game is different now, compared to when he played it in the past. But that’s part of the problem. The game is very different now, and the big men (including guys like Gobert and San Antonio’s Wembanyama) aren’t nearly as strong and dominant as Shaq and the other bigs of the NBA “back in the day.”
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
What Shaq has talked about – many times – is that he doesn’t feel Gobert is worth the five-year, $205,000,000 max veteran extension he signed back in 2020. Yes, it’s true… Shaq is on record calling Gobert the worst player in the NBA, which is a take he fired off while doing a partnership with Complex (a sports and lifestyle magazine site) earlier this offseason.
Since then, he’s pulled back on those comments a bit, saying he just wants to see more consistent hard work. Not just from Gobert, we should say, but also guys like Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets. Still, the comments are out there, and this week they got some pushback, in the form of comments from former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony was talking on his own podcast, called “7 PM in Brooklyn,” (cool name, BTW). This week (as of this posting date), Melo said Shaq is going a bit too far with his criticism, saying, “Yo Shaq, Champ, leave Rudy the f*** alone man. Come on bro like stall him out man, stall the guy out, man. You know, Sacré bleu, and all this.”
Anthony has his own ideas about why Gobert and some other current-day players are getting heat from O’Neal. He says it may simply be that today’s players are not listening to – or taking advice from – guys like Shaq and other OG’s who are trying to add a little wisdom to the current game and current players.
Still, Anthony said that because the game has changed so much, the modern player doesn’t feel the need to consult the four-time champ. He added, “I wish they would (see Shaq). With that being said, they don’t want to because they don’t feel like there’s any relevancy between Shaq’s game and the game today. So nobody is saying ‘go see Shaq.’ They’re going to say, ‘hey go see T-Mac,’ like ‘go see this guy,’ ‘go see Melo,’ like they ain’t like ‘go see Shaq.’”
As for Gobert himself, he kinda, sorta alluded to that feeling the last time he wrote on his socials about O’Neal’s comments toward him and others. “It is sad to see someone that has accomplished as much as you did, Shaq, both in sport and business still be triggered by another man’s finances and accomplishments. I get the entertainment part but unlike other folks, you don’t need that stuff to stay relevant.”
Love him or not, Gobert is creating his own story in the current Association. He’s a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, and this past season he helped his Timberwolves get to their first Western Conference finals since 2004 this past season.
The new season starts soon! We’ll see how guys like Gobert and Simmons come ready to play.