NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal has never been afraid to let basketball fans know how he feels when it comes to certain teams and players.
During an interview with Complex, O’Neal was asked who the worst NBA player of all time is, and he didn’t mince words about Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.
It’s an interesting take from O’Neal considering Gobert has accomplished quite a bit during his NBA career. Gobert is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time All-Star and a seven-time member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team during his time with the Utah Jazz and Timberwolves.
Gobert is coming off of a season in which he averaged 14.0 points and 12.9 rebounds with the Timberwolves. The French native’s 12.9 rebounds per contest were the second-highest average in the entire league, only trailing Sacramento Kings star Domantas Sabonis (13.7).
O’Neal also sure to get in a jab on Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons as he called Simmons “another bum.”
“I’m going to tell you why. Because if you sign a contract for ($250 million), show me 250,” O’Neal said. “There’s a reason why I walk funny, why I can’t turn my neck and why I can’t do it because I played for my ($120 million). So you got guys like (Simmons) that f–k the system over and they’re making all this money and they can’t f—ing play. So I don’t respect guys like that.
“Every time I make these comments, people think I’m hating, but these are facts. You got teachers, you got firemen, you got doctors who have real jobs and don’t get paid shit.”
