Draymond Green Piles On the ‘Rudy Gobert Hate,’ Shaquille O’Neal Chimes In

Draymond Green‘s disdain for Rudy Gobert runs deep. The Golden State Warriors star has a penchant for roasting the Minnesota Timberwolves, refusing to turn down any opportunity to talk smack about the Frenchman. During Wednesday’s post-game show on TNT, the crew was discussing Nikola Jokic’s historic performance in Game 5 against the Timberwolves. And of course, true to form, the Warriors man just couldn’t help but get brutal with the 7-footer.

Jokic became only the second player in NBA history to record 40 points and 10 assists in a playoff game while committing no turnovers. In 41 minutes, he recorded 40 points, 7 rebounds, and 13 assists, while shooting 68.2% from the field, and 66.7% from beyond the arc. However, as the crew lauded the reigning MVP’s incredible performance, Green took an unprovoked shot at Gobert, saying,

“There’s an interesting thing about this stat, though. You know what’s interesting? When Chris Paul had those numbers, there was a common denominator. It was the Rudy Gobert-led Jazz.”  

When Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith tried to downplay Gobert’s fault, Shaquille O’Neal backed Green. He said that the Warriors star was telling the truth before mockingly commenting that the center was likely the reigning Defensive Player of the Year when Paul put up those historic numbers against the Jazz.

Unfortunately for Gobert, O’Neal’s guess was spot on. He was indeed the reigning Defensive Player of the Year during that series in 2018 against the Rockets.

When Smith tried to spare his blushes by claiming he wasn’t responsible for guarding Paul, the four-time NBA champion retorted that he probably was responsible for containing the veteran guard when Houston ran a pick-and-roll, which, again, was true.

Gobert was expected to play a massive role defensively in both games, but he came up short on each occasion, much to the delight of Green.

And so, with the chance to go unhinged on the Frenchman, the Warriors man delivered the ultimate death blow. One comment that only solidified that the Frenchman just can’t be trusted when the lights are at their brightest.

Draymond Green labels Rudy Gobert unplayable

Draymond Green‘s smack-talking performance on Wednesday was a lot more timid than his brutal takedown of Rudy Gobert the previous night.

Following the Nuggets’ win, the Warriors star called the Frenchman out for not shouldering the responsibility of the loss and suggesting the team needed to do better rather than him. He proceeded to suggest that Minnesota was better off without its center, saying,

“Rudy Gobert went from unplayable in the playoffs, to playable these playoffs, to unplayable in the playoffs. The last three games, he’s been unplayable in the playoffs.” 

Green has a longstanding beef with Gobert, which even got physical last year when the Warriors star put the Timberwolves center in a chokehold during a game. So, the seeming anger from the Golden State star here has hardly come from nowhere.

While the Frenchman has largely been silent on his rivalry with the veteran forward, the four-time NBA champion is seemingly on a mission to butcher the reigning Defensive Player of the Year’s reputation as a player.