Shaquille O'Neal is no fan of Rudy Gobert. That much we know. His disdain for the big man has been well documented and the longtime studio analyst seems to never shy away from an opportunity to rip the Minnesota Timberwolves big man. The criticism long ago went from being professional to a weird personal place but the old rules of sports media are out the window and nothing O'Neal can do would hurt Inside the NBA or his standing on the show, which will make its long-awaited shift over to ESPN next season.
He continued to discuss Gobert on the latest episode of The Big Podcast, providing further reasons for his dislike.
"I f---ing hate Rudy Gobert," O'Neal said. "Because that m----f----- is making $250 million and he doesn't deserve it, dog. As the President of the Big Man Alliance, you making big money, play like a f---ing big man. That's it. Play like a f--ing big man. Throw some bows. Knock some people out. Don't be little white dudes from Denver dunk on you and talk s--- to you. Then you got to grab them by the neck at the last second. Come on, bro. If you going to f---ing be get paid big money, play big."
Shaq on Rudy Gobert:
— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) July 23, 2025
“I f***ing hate Rudy Gobert… If Rudy Gobert get into the Hall of Fame, I’ll wear this dress to the motherf***ing ceremony.” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/7uB3xmjgNP
O'Neal followed up on his strong critique by issuing an unusual promise.
"If Rudy Gobert gets into the Hall of Fame I'll wear this dress to the m------f----ing ceremony."
We'll see if that happens because Gobert will eventually be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Even if he doesn't play another meaningful minute.
It really is striking that this is where we are. O'Neal can say stuff like this and then be paid generously to analyze the NBA—where Gobert is a major presence. There used to be some sort of line where it was considered uncouth to be cursing out players and saying you hate them while being asked to cover their games.
Not anymore.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Shaquille O'Neal Hates Rudy Gobert, Vows to Wear Dress If He Makes Hall of Fame.
