Shaquille O’Neal was the most dominant player in NBA history. Shaq’s truly mesmerizing combination of size, speed, and strength proved to be too much for every defender in the NBA.
It seemed like Shaq in his prime could get whatever he wanted whenever he stepped on the court. But one current NBA player recently said that he could hold Shaquille O’Neal down and stop him on the court.
Three-time NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Rudy Gobert commented on a post of Shaquille O’Neal talking about him, saying that he would lock him up. Shaquille O’Neal responded on Inside The NBA, in the only way he knows how.
He joked about what French barbecue chicken tastes like and explained how he would dominate against Rudy Gobert and get the better of him, all while Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith made the case for Gobert (1:40 onwards).
“I wonder what French Barbecue Chicken tastes like. That’s going to be good. I’m not shooting no jump hooks, like I said, I’m backing his little skinny a** down and knocking the elbow and dunking. Stop it, Chuck.”
Shaquille O’Neal and Rudy Gobert have had a longstanding feud. Shaq has been vocal about what he thinks of Gobert, noting that he doesn’t think he is as good as his accomplishments and numbers suggest.
Despite being a perennial All-Star and multiple-time Defensive Player Of The Year, Shaq thinks that Gobert has not performed at an elite level and has shown that he should be considered one of the best big men of all time.
Gobert has responded to Shaq in the past, but the back-and-forth between the two never really lasts long. Dwyane Wade recently pitched the two to go at it at next year’s All-Star weekend in Utah.
There is no way of knowing how the two players would have fared in a one-on-one situation, considering both players played in very different eras. But a matchup between the two would be an enticing one, as they have been two of the most recognized big men in the NBA.
