Shaquille O’Neal responds to Rudy Gobert: ‘I wonder what French barbecue chicken tastes like’

By Jonathan Sherman
Updated: May 10, 2022

The ongoing drama between Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal and Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert continues to produce fireworks for NBA fans.

The two oversized men with similarly large egos have been trading shots for the past several days. The latest challenge came from O’Neal when the four-time NBA champion was taking part in his duties on “NBA on TNT.”

He made it clear that he has no doubt how a one-on-one battle would have gone between himself and Gobert had the two played against one another.

“I wonder what French barbecue chicken tastes like,” he said. “… Like I said, I’m backing his little skinny a– down. I’m throwing a bow, and I’m dunking.”

O’Neal was visibly riled up in the video, and it offered fans another opportunity to see just how competitive O’Neal still is. Surely, he would love to really prove how much greater he thinks he is than Gobert, but with his playing days so far behind him, chances of that actually taking place are slim to none.

Still, while Gobert is widely considered to be one of the best defenders in the league today, few fans would argue that he has gotten anywhere near the level of dominance that O’Neal enjoyed for much of his career.

It the two had played against one another, it seems quite possible that O’Neal would have had the upper hand in nearly all facets of the game. Since fans can’t enjoy that matchup, they’ll have to settle for enjoying the exchange of words.