“I’d be making Rudy Gobert money”: Shaquille O’Neal leaves no doubt as to how much the Lakers would pay him if he played today

Shaquille O’Neal earned over $290 million through 19 years in the NBA, but he still fancies Rudy Gobert’s supermax deal more.

Shaq was the world’s most famous basketball player for a number of years in the noughties. There were things he did on the big stage that are unlikely to ever be replicated by any player or center.

Shaq was a force of nature on the basketball court unseen in basketball history, before or after him. There has never been a 7-footer who moved like he did while weighing as much as a baby elephant.

Modern NBA players are terrified when the likes of Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James break out in transition. These superstars would legitimately seem like lightweights in comparison to the momentum that Shaq carried on the fast break.

27 years ago, Shaq made his NBA debut and finished with 12 Pts, 18 Reb and 3 Blk 😤 pic.twitter.com/RXFxHBMKSs

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 6, 2019

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Shaquille O’Neal would undoubtedly still be a top-3 player in the current NBA – most likely not numbers 3 or 2. That’s why it’s kinda laughable when people point to Giannis and say Shaq would’ve similarly been schemed out of playoffs.

There’s never been an answer for unbeatable size and strength like Shaq’s. 29 teams across the league would load up on unathletic 7-footers for years on end just to stand a chance against Shaq in the playoffs. They did, after all, have to have enough bodies to deploy Hack-a-Shaq effectively.

“I’d be making Rudy Gobert money today”: Shaquille O’Neal

Shaq seems to have taken Rudy Gobert’s contract as a personal slight, having admitted that he feels jealous of the bag he’s secured. Shaq never fails to find an opportunity to bring up the Jazz DPOY’s contract in casual conversation.

He kept this energy up even in a podcast where he tried to be the bigger man regarding Jeanie Buss’s comments. Shaq remarked that he’d doubtless be ‘making Rudy Gobert money’ if he played today.

“There’s footage of me being the black Steph Curry. I’m 1-22 from three-point line. If I was playing today, I’d be making Rudy Gobert numbers. If I was shooting 1-22 now, I’d be making $300 million.”

You would think the way Shaq talks about Rudy Gobert he’s a hater but if you watch the games, you get it lol. You’d fulllyyy fulllyyy understand it.

— Beloved (@97HOV) May 1, 2021

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