Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert continues to catch strays even after winning his fourth career NBA Defensive Player of the Year award last season.
Media outlet Complex recently asked Shaquille O’Neal to pick his WOAT—the worst player of all time, and the four-time NBA champion inexplicably named Rudy Gobert first, then Ben Simmons second.
“Rudy Gobert (is the worst). If you sign a contract for 250 (million dollars), show me 250. There’s a reason why I walk funny and I can’t turn my neck and why I can’t do it because I played for my 120 (million dollars),” O’Neal explained.
“So you got guys like him that f**k the system over. They make all this money, and they can’t f**king play, so I don’t respect guys like that. Every time I make these comments, people think I’m hating, but these are facts. You’ve got teachers, you’ve got firemen, you’ve got doctors who have real jobs and don’t get paid s**t,” he added.
Minnesota Timberwolves Rudy Gobert responds to Shaquille O’Neal
Rudy Gobert doesn’t typically comment on these situations, but this one’s an exception. In his response, Gobert called Shaquille O’Neal’s comments sad due to his stature.
“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,” the Minnesota Timberwolves star posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). “I get the entertainment part, but unlike other folks, you don’t need that stuff to stay relevant.”
Rudy Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves have bigger things in mind this upcoming campaign, as they’ll try to make another run at an NBA championship after making it to the Western Conference Finals last season.