Inside The Jazz

Shaquille O’Neal Rips Former Jazz C Rudy Gobert as Overrated

The Hall of Fame big man had some choice words on the Minnesota Timberwolves center.

Jared Koch

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It's been a big year for former Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert in 2024. During his second season with his new Minnesota Timberwolves squad after his blockbuster trade two summers ago, he's been a critical part of the team's newfound success and top placement in the Western Conference.

The Timberwolves currently rank third in the West with a 45-21 record, sitting just one game behind the top seed in the conference. A large part of their rise in the standings can be attributed to their league-best defense, ranking first in the NBA for defensive rating at 108.8. Consequently, it's put a ton of credit on Gobert being the anchor of this team's lockdown unit.

However, there remain some doubters for what Gobert truly provides on the floor as a defender. Even after winning three Defensive Player of the Year awards in Utah and gunning for a fourth this year in Minnesota, a few names around the league aren't completely sold the former Jazz All-Star is as impactful as advertised.

On an episode of The Big Podcast, Shaquille O'Neal went on to discuss the DPOY race for the 2023-24 season, giving his nod to Miami Heat C Bam Adebayo over Gobert, saying Rudy isn't a "great defensive player":

"I never thought he was a great defensive player either. See, what it is; there's not a lot of centers that are making him play defense. Like, he's not doing that s*** against [Nikola Jokic] because he has to be engaged, but when he's going against another guy, he's 7'6! Of course if you lay it up, he's going to block it, but defense to me is: guard that m********** and shut him down. You want to impress me? Hold Joker under 15 points. Now, you're playing defense. All of that weak side, blocking shots, that's cool, but it's not going to work against guys like me and Joker and Embiid."

Even with the accolades he's generated during his career, some shortcomings in the postseason with the Jazz and some limitations as a perimeter defender have raised some concerns about how impactful he truly is. With another DPOY-quality campaign underway though, it's becoming a bit more difficult to dispute.

In his 63 games this season, Gobert has averaged 13.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks on 64.8% shooting from the field. The numbers on paper are respectable, but what matters is how the end of the season pans out for the Timberwolves. If we see yet another underwhelming playoff stretch from Rudy like we have in the past, things could get ugly.

While the Jazz season is still in progress, keep an eye on how the rest of this season goes for Rudy Gobert and the rest of this Minnesota team.

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Jared Koch
JARED KOCH

Jared Koch is the Associate Editor of The Frozen Rope — SI.com's team website covering the Utah Jazz. He's covered the NBA and NFL for the past two years, also being the Managing Editor of Inside The Kings — SI.com's team website covering the Sacramento Kings.

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