The Rudy Gobert hate got out of control.
Shaquille O’Neal is a proud member of the “get off my lawn” generation of older players who don’t like the way the NBA game has evolved, and he quickly grew to hate the game’s current best big men (he’s already started the silly “Victor Wembanyama doesn’t play inside enough” BS). Shaq’s favorite target has long been Rudy Gobert, and this week, during a question-and-answer session with Complex (which his son posted), Shaq took it to another level:
When asked who is the worst NBA player of all time, Shaq said “Rudy Gobert” without hesitation.
“If you sign a contract for 250 million dollars, show me 250 million dollars. There is a reason why I walk funny, why I can’t turn my neck and why I can’t do it. Because I played for about 120 million dollars .You have guys like him who cheat the system.They make all this money and they can’t play like that.I don’t respect them.
Gobert responded, essentially asking why does Shaq get so hung up on other people’s money?
It’s sad to see someone who has done as much as you have @SHAQ and in sport and business continue to be triggered by the economy and achievements of another man. I get the entertainment part but unlike other people, you don’t need those things to stay relevant. https://t.co/KPHs2VmfIb
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) September 5, 2024
The Gobert hate — from Shaq, other players and some fans — is just tired.
Gobert is a worthy Hall of Fame player. Minnesota had the best defense in the NBA last season, does anyone think that’s the case if Karl-Anthony Towns anchors the paint instead of Gobert? He’s the best edge defender of a generation, and he’s more mobile and better on the perimeter than his detractors like to admit. Much is made of this Finals Luka Doncic game-winner over Gobert (and Doncic’s trash talk afterward) but Gobert forced Doncic into a shot he doesn’t prefer, a step back to the right, and give Doncic credit for hitting it. A good offense beat a good defense.
Doncic’s trash talk is a reminder of how much his peers just don’t like Gobert — but part of that hate is that Gobert is a problem for them. There’s a reason Gobert had the best on-off differential (+5) of any player on the Timberwolves last regular season, and that continued into the playoffs when he was first or second on the team in differential in each round. Minnesota is only better with Gobert on the court, the Timberwolves problem in the Western Conference Finals was their defense crashed when he went to the bench.
Gobert is not an elite offensive player, but he has good hands and has averaged 12.7 points per game on 65.5% shooting for his career, and also grabs 11.8 rebounds per game.
Gobert’s playoff woes are overblown. Can a five-out team put him — and the defense designed around him as a paint anchor — in trouble because it can get him out to the perimeter? Yes. The Clippers did it to him when Gobert was in Utah, but Los Angeles coaches were quick to say that the rest of the perimeter defenders were so weak, the rotations so slow, that they could put Gobert in an impossible situation of having to take or take. away alayup at the rim or open corner 3. There are times when coaches should match small with small. Maybe that bothers people, but it’s more about not liking the evolution of the game than Gobert.
Shaq and everyone else are entitled to their opinions, they don’t have to like Gobert. But the worst player ever? That’s just a lazy “look at me” comment. Which I guess we should be used to from some sides.
