"In his defense, he did have the entire league on lockdown in 2020" - NBA world trolls Rudy Gobert savagely for his “I would lock his a** up" comments against Shaquille O'Neal

Rudy Gobert’s “I would lock his a** up” response to Shaquille O'Neal's claim that the French defensive specialist can’t guard him got social media buzzing. The Hall-of-Famer made the bold statement on an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq.

Upon hearing of Gobert’s equally audacious answer, most basketball fans couldn’t hold back their incredulity. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year’s reply was so outrageous that fans have had a blast trolling the Utah Jazz center.

“In his defense, he did have the entire league on lockdown in 2020.”

Rudy Gobert infamously made light of the Covid-19 situation in the NBA when he deliberately touched the microphones in a press conference. It was a gesture that received serious backlash in the sporting world due to the insensitivity of the action. In some way, “The French Rejection” did shut down the league.

Here are a few of the most hilarious trolls on Gobert’s response to Shaq:

Fantasy matchups are very tricky, to say the least, since basketball played in Shaquille O'Neal’s time was significantly different from Rudy Gobert’s tenure. However, if it’s going to be a one-on-one battle, regardless of rules, it’s almost unimaginable for “The Big Diesel” to lose to Gobert.

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Prime Shaquille O'Neal was unlike anyone Rudy Gobert would have faced in his career

Shaq terrorized the paint in his peak years in the NBA. [Photo: New York Post]

Peak Shaquille O'Neal was a beast. He is rightly toe-to-toe with Wilt Chamberlain as the most dominant basketball player to play in the NBA. It’s difficult to picture how Rudy Gobert would lock up prime Shaq.

In the 2001 Western Conference Finals, where he faced the iconic Twin Tower combo of Tim Duncan and David Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal was nearly unstoppable. Shaq averaged 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 blocks. He led the LA Lakers to a sweep of the No. 1 seeded San Antonio Spurs.

Awaiting him in the 2001 NBA Finals was Philadelphia 76ers center and shot block artist Dikembe Mutombo. The LA Lakers center destroyed the 76ers’ frontline, winning his second finals MVP by averaging 33 points, 15.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 blocks.

Mutombo, like Rudy Gobert, was supremely confident he could shut down O'Neal. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year would refuse double-teams, which allowed Shaq to put up monster numbers.

From 2000 to 2003, in the LA Lakers three-peat, Shaquille O'Neal averaged a mind-boggling 35.7 points, 14.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.9 blocks. The NBA had no answer for him in his prime. Had Rudy Gobert traveled back in time to face that juggernaut, he would have been, as Shaq would have put it, “barbecue chicken.”

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