Shaquille O’Neal is going back to a favorite pastime of his.
The retired Basketball Hall of Famer O’Neal drew attention this week by taking another profane shot at Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert. On the latest episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal admitted that he “f–king hate[s]” Gobert.
“I f–king hate Rudy Gobert,” said O’Neal. “Because that motherf–ker making $250 million, [and] he don’t deserve it, dawg. F–k that. As the president of The Big Man Alliance, you making big money, play like a f–king big man. That’s it. Throw some [elbows], knock some people out, don’t be letting little white dudes from Denver dunk on you and talk s–t to you.”
O’Neal, who appeared to be referencing the time that Denver’s Christian Braun posterized Gobert last season, also responded negatively when co-host Adam Lefkoe suggested that Gobert would be in the Hall of Fame one day.
“If Rudy Gobert gets into the Hall of Fame, I’ll wear this dress to the motherf–king ceremony,” said O’Neal while holding up a picture of Charles Barkley wearing a dress in a WeightWatchers commercial.
You can see the full video of O’Neal’s comments here (with the expletives muted).
Shaq says he would wear a dress to the ceremony if Rudy Gobert makes the Hall of Fame
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 25, 2025
“I f***ing hate Rudy Gobert.”
( @bigpodwithshaq / https://t.co/xlVhD8o3eA) pic.twitter.com/ObyTjMPsSj
O’Neal, who made $286 million in salary over his entire NBA career, is at least keeping the same energy with Gobert, who once got a five-year, $205 million contract from the Utah Jazz and will make another $109.5 million over just the next three years with Minnesota. In previous years, O’Neal had admitted he was jealous of modern-day NBA salaries and singled out Gobert as a specific example of what he saw as an undeserved contract.
As for Gobert’s Hall of Fame case, he appears to be well on his way. Gobert is a three-time All-Star, a four-time All-NBA selection, and an eight-time All-Defensive selection (with four Defensive Player of the Year Awards under his belt as well). The 33-year-old Gobert currently has a 27.2 percent chance of making the Hall of Fame, according to Basketball Reference, so O’Neal might need to have the dress handy just in case.
Even as recently as last year, Gobert was firing back at O’Neal over The Diesel’s constant criticisms of him. With Gobert and the Timberwolves now having made back-to-back conference finals though, perhaps his best revenge against O’Neal would be to get over the hump and finally win an NBA championship.
