“A man that stood the test of time with Patrick Ewing… You ask me about Rudy Gobert? Don’t do that” - Shaquille O’Neal says he’s not going to waste his time with earthlings

After the social media storm created by the back-and-forth between Shaquille O'Neal and Rudy Gobert, the LA Lakers legend will not get into it again. The four-time NBA champion has already said he respects the French international’s straightforward reply and will leave it at that.

On an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, co-hosts Nischelle Turner and Spice Adams kept on needling the big guy to say something more. Here’s what the “Big Diesel” had to say while refusing to take the bait:

“From now on, I’m not wasting my time with earthlings… A man that stood the test of time with Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Hakeem Olajuwon and you ask me about Rudy Gobert? Don’t do that, don’t do that!”

Spice Adams wouldn’t let go of that easily and continued to push the Utah Jazz center’s case, really pushing Shaq to react. O'Neal just smiled at the goading and responded:

“I know what you are trying to do. You already went viral once. Now you want me to say something crazy and if I say something crazy it’s gonna go viral, ‘Why Shaq so hard on Rudy, Shaq’s a bully, Shaq should leave that man alone.’ So I ain’t gonna say nothing.”

What has been said between the two superstars has taken on a new identity of its own after various sports analysts tossed more fuel into the exchange. It’s a good thing that Shaquille O'Neal knows when and how to let go of such stuff.

It doesn’t mean, though, that he might not get into it again in the future. Shaquille O'Neal will still be with the NBA on TNT crew covering the games. If and when Rudy Gobert fails, Dr. O'Neal might have another go at the French superstar again.

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Charles Barkley is hilariously siding with Rudy Gobert in a fantasy matchup versus colleague Shaquille O'Neal.

Charles Barkley hilariously tried to goad Shaq to say more about Rudy Gobert on the set of the NBA on TNT. [Photo: New York Post]

Besides his guarantees in some of the most anticipated games across all sports, Charles Barkley is almost unbeatable throwing gasoline into an already testy situation. “Chuck” has been, over the years, able to provoke Shaq to do or say something he would not have said or done under normal circumstances.

“Sir Charles” tried it again on the set of the NBA on TNT while they were covering the 2022 playoffs.

“Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!... Rudy gonna eat some black barbeque chicken. He’s gonna hurt kids in the stands blocking your shots.”

Fortunately, Shaq just kept on laughing with occasional comments about French barbecue chicken.

Most veteran sports analysts covering the NBA, however, completely disagreed with Charles Barkley, which is a big reason why the whole incident turned into a circus. Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless, two of the most outspoken anchors on TV, agreed with Shaquille O'Neal.

In the meantime, Shaq is smoking the peace pipe. But with Barkley on the set of the NBA on TNT, there’s a very big chance that the three-time Finals MVP could deal with “earthlings” once more.

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