NBA Legend Gets Critical of Former Philadelphia 76ers All-Star

Shaquille O'Neal recently got critical of former Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.

Jun 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Shaquille O'Neal greets fans before the game between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks in game one of the 2024 NBA Finals at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Hoops Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal has never shied away from expressing his true thoughts. If the former dominant center has a critical opinion of a player in today’s game, he won’t hesitate to make his thoughts public. Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers center has found that out plenty of times throughout his career.

But Embiid isn’t alone. As critical as Shaq is towards the one-time MVP, the Hall of Famer has sent plenty of praise Embiid’s way, too. Plus, others around the league tend to hear a lot worse from Shaq. Recently, the four-time NBA Champion got critical of Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert. And former Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons caught a stray.

Sitting down for an interview with Complex, Shaq was asked to name his WOAT (Worst of all time). Out of all of the NBA players who have been in the game, Shaq landed on Gobert as his answer.

“He’s worse than Ben Simmons?” asked Myles O’Neal.

“Ben Simmons is another bum.”

Despite coming from Shaq’s alma mater LSU, Simmons and the former center have exchanged words before. As Shaq was once overly critical about Simmons’ holdout situation with the Sixers following a disappointing playoff performance, it was clear the 15-time All-Star left the former No. 1 overall pick frustrated due to his commentary.

As for Gobert, Shaq went on to explain his reasoning behind picking the All-Star center.

"If you sign a contract for 250—show me 250,” O’Neal said. “There’s a reason why I walk funny, and I can’t turn my neck. I can’t do it because I played for my 120. So you got guys like him that [expletive] the system over making all this money, and they can’t [expletive] play. 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, firemen, and doctors who have real jobs, and they get paid [bad].”

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Currently, Gobert is playing on a five-year contract with the Timberwolves, getting paid over $200 million. Despite being a three-time All-Star and a four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, Gobert’s value doesn’t add up to $205 million in Shaq’s eyes.

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His thoughts on Simmons are likely the same. In 2016, Simmons joined the Sixers as their first-overall selection out of LSU. After battling an injury in year one, Simmons earned Rookie of the Year honors when he debuted a year after getting drafted.

Despite the criticism received, Simmons had an impressive stretch with the 76ers. He earned All-Star honors on three occasions. He was a two-time All-Defensive First Team recipient as well. Unfortunately, Simmons didn’t pan out for Philly in the long term.

In 2021-2022, Simmons demanded a trade and stayed off the court until he got it. In 2022-2023, Simmons debuted for the Brooklyn Nets after getting his wish to be traded. He appeared in just 57 games across two full seasons with the Nets. Despite the lack of playing time due to numerous injuries, Simmons will still make $40 million for the 2024-2025 NBA season.