Lot of people don't lake Utah Jazz alum Rudy Gobert, and it's not abundantly clear why. Maybe it's his ties to the Jazz or because he's never been an offensively dependable center, or maybe people still aren't over what went down with Gobert and COVID-19.
Whatever the case is, Gobert has his fair share of haters. Chief among them is Shaquille O'Neal, who has exchanged plenty of barbs with Gobert over the years. His most recent one is pretty scathing.
O'Neal posted an his personal Instagram a picture of a Walmart cashier with Gobert's face superimposed, adding the caption, "Rudy Gobert if he wasn't 7'1''." NBACentral's X account aggregated O'Neal's IG post.
Shaq on IG: pic.twitter.com/nXUKw8pf1X
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 27, 2024
Shaq is insinuating that Gobert would not be in the NBA if it weren't for his frame. The irony is that pretty much every NBA player who has ever graced the court would not have done so had it not been for their overtowering frame.
O'Neal himself is no exception to this. He is one of the biggest freaks of nature to ever come into the NBA. Not only was O'Neal a big guy, but he was a very impressive athlete for how massive he was, which paved the way for him to become one of the best players in NBA history. Take that away. and maybe he too would have been a Walmart cashier.
Gobert and Shaq have a history dating back to his Jazz days
Gobert's and O'Neals rivalry goes back to when Gobert played for the Jazz. When Gobert teared up over being snubbed for the All-Star game, O'Neal told Gobert to "man up" and that "there's no crying in basketball."
Shaquille O'Neal Tells Rudy Gobert To 'Man Up,' 'There's No Crying In Basketball' https://t.co/33O2WFQtWJ
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 2, 2019
In 2022, when O'Neal was told on his podcast that Gobert could hold him to 12 points, O'Neal's response was, "Yeah, in the first three minutes."
.@spiceadams: "I think Rudy can hold you to like 12 points."@SHAQ: "Yeah...in the first 3 minutes!" 😂#TheBigPodcast: https://t.co/kEWKCjYB3O pic.twitter.com/Yfz3jutQRN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 9, 2022
Gobert responded to O'Neal's comments via Instagram, writing, "I would lock his ass up."
Rudy fires back at Shaq in our comments 👀🍿 pic.twitter.com/ReqZZ6Z6WZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 9, 2022
And this feud has lived on ever since. With the Jazz parting ways with Gobert and have since entered a rebuild, this isn't really their problem anymore. However, knowing Gobert's legacy in Utah, it's just so odd to see so many people, including former NBA players, go out of their way to attack him.