The gold medal match between the USA and France at the 2024 Paris Olympics had several standout moments. But one involving Rudy Gobert and Joel Embiid caught the attention of Shaquille O’Neal, who was seemingly baffled about it.
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While trying to get a bucket down in the post, Gobert, who was being guarded by Embiid, lost his balance and hit the floor. To break his fall, the Frenchman star grabbed the 76ers superstar’s knees, leaving his head near the Team USA center’s groin area, making it an extremely awkward site for every spectator.
O’Neal was among those weirded out by the moment. He posted a clip of the same incident on his Instagram and added a slew of laughing emojis. He captioned the post, “What [is] this move called?”
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While most would see the Lakers icon’s post as a funny reaction video, he likely posted it because the player who was being poked fun at was Gobert. The Hall of Famer never lets an opportunity to take a jibe at the Timberwolves star slide.
Shaquille O’Neal has made his hatred for Rudy Gobert public
He first called the Frenchman out in an interview with BasketballNews.com after he signed a five-year, $205 million with the Jazz in 2020. O’Neal, who earned $286 million in salary during his illustrious career, admitted that he envied the amount of money Gobert was making. He said,
“I’m jealous but happy… I’m jealous because I always thought you had to be Michael Jordan to get that kind of money… If someone were to ask me, yes, I’m jealous that he’s making 205 million. But he can motivate a kid to keep his dream of playing in the NBA alive,” Shaq said.
A year later, he reiterated on the Big Podcast with Shaq that his harsh comments for Gobert stem from his jealousy about his salary. He said,
“You think I’m happy Rudy Gobert’s making 250 [million]? … God damn right we get mad, we get petty… I think it’s a little bit of truth in our criticism.”
Despite confessing to being envious of Gobert’s contracts, the four-time NBA champion claims he has no feud with Gobert. However, his actions say otherwise.
Two weeks ago, O’Neal shared a photoshopped image of the four-time Defensive Player of the Year as a Walmart cashier with the caption, “Rudy Gobert if he wasn’t 7’1,” seemingly implying his height was his only standout attribute as a player.
After fans called him out for the post, he defended himself, claiming he shared it because he found it funny and it did not reflect his true feelings about the center. However, the Hall of Famer seemingly isn’t a fan of Gobert.
