Much to Chuck’s surprise, Rudy Gobert made it to Shaquille O’Neal‘s favorite list. Not the right list, of course. The 4x NBA champ is back with his Shaqtin’ A Fool segment, featuring some of the most hilarious and memorable moments from the NBA. While the first spot was crowned to Heat coach Eric Spoelstra, another player made the list. This is the same star who O’Neal once called the worst NBA player. And so, it’s unsurprising that the revelation took aback the keen listener Charles Barkley. 

The Philadelphia 76ers legend quickly pointed out that he thought the Frenchman was banned from their broadcast when Shaq named Rudy Gobert the 4th player on Shaqtin’ A Fool. “I thought we were banned from showing him,” Chuck asked. The Minnesota Timberwolves star was called out for a moment in the Miami Heat vs. Phoenix Suns game, where he dropped a Suns player near him as he fell while trying to dunk the ball. 

In response to Chuck’s concerns, Shaq assured him that the Timberwolves star wasn’t banned from their broadcast. However, the Wolves seemingly had banned the TNT crew once. Before winning his 4th DPOY title, Gobert had hardly moved away from the radar, and like many veterans, O’Neal criticized Gobert’s defensive performance. 

As the notch of criticism from Draymond Green and the analysts on the TNT panel grew a bit too high, the Wolves appeared to avoid an interview. The players also seemed unhappy about the criticism of Karl-Anthony Towns, who currently plays for the Knicks.

Although the news of a boycott or anything of the sort was never confirmed, the criticism didn’t end. Furthermore, Chuck also claimed a suspension punishment for Gobert, who was fined $100,000 for making a money gesture to referee Scott Foster.

A few weeks ago, the Big Aristotle claimed that Gobert isn’t doing enough to justify his lucrative $205 million deal with the Wolves. The Frenchman, however, wasn’t silent either.

Rudy Gobert was upset over Shaquille O’Neal’s comment 

Gobert was quick to heat up X (formerly Twitter), claiming he was disappointed by Shaq’s comments. He further suggested that the basketball legend tries pulling him down only to stay relevant. “It is sad to see someone that has accomplished as much as you did @SHAQ both in sport and business still be triggered by another man’s finances and accomplishments,” Gobert wrote.

It all started on the GOAT Talk podcast when O’Neal chose Gobert as the “worst NBA player.”  But the Lakers legend explained that he doesn’t need attention to stay relevant; it’s just him telling the facts. He clarified, “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 s—.”

The drama has only simmered ever since. As said before, O’Neal also seemed to question Gobert’s defense. Gobert won the DPOY honor with 72 first-place votes, surpassing Victor Wembanyama, Bam Adebayo, and Anthony Davis. This season, he averaged 14.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game.

After Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo, Gobert became the third player to be named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for a fourth time. He won his first DPOY honors with the Utah Jazz in 2018, 2019, and 2021. Although he may seem one of the best, Shaq is still confident in saying Gobert needs to put in more effort.