Shaquille O’Neal reignited his beef with Rudy Gobert by calling him the worst player of all time in NBA history during an appearance on Complex’s GOAT Talk. The Hall of Famer’s comments did not set well with the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, who responded that the Lakers icon was fishing for relevancy. Patrick Beverley claimed that he disagreed with O’Neal but understands why he dislikes Gobert.
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On the latest episode of the Pat Bev Podcast with Rone, the former Lakers guard claimed that the Frenchman is far from the worst player ever. On the contrary, he believes the center is one of the best defensive players in NBA history. He said,
“Rudy’s not the worst player in the NBA. I think he’s changed the game defensively when you talk about rim protection. statistically, historically. In Rudy’s eyes and Rudy’s team’s eyes, he’s the best defensive player in the world and that’s the truth… When it comes to rim protection, shot-blocking, he’s historically one of the greats.”
When co-host Rone asked Beverley why he thinks O’Neal called Gobert the worst player ever, the veteran explained the Hall of Famer has a penchant for judging centers harshly. He said,
“We talking about Superman, one of the most dominant players to ever play the game. Shaq is probably thinking that if Shaq was that size, he would be doing what he did and more. And everyone’s not Shaq. Shaq had the same issues Dwight Howard also. At the time, Dwight Howard as the best big man alive… I think Shaq is a hard critic when it comes to guys who play at his position.”
Beverley added that O’Neal bases his opinion about centers on how he believes he’d fare against them in his prime. The guard claimed NBA teams would take Gobert on their team in a heartbeat, despite what the Hall of Famer said about the Frenchman.
The four-time NBA champion did explain that his opinion about the Timberwolves center was based on the values of his last two contract extensions and not necessarily his abilities. Perhaps O’Neal would have a different take had Gobert not earned $217 million in only 11 years when it took him 19 to finish his career with $286 million in salary.
