“Do you realize you gave up 42 points to Ben Simmons? Shaq might get a 100 points on Rudy Gobert” - Shannon Sharpe says prime Shaquille O’Neal will “kill” Rudy Gobert
Shaquille O'Neal is one of the most dominant big men in basketball history, and NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe believes that the big man could drop 100 points on Rudy Gobert.
The debate over whether Gobert could stop prime O'Neal has raged on for the best few days, with both sides claiming they would best the other elite NBA center.
While Gobert has established himself as one of the best defenders in NBA history with his three defensive player of the year awards, Shannon Sharpe is not convinced the big man would stand a chance if pitted against O'Neal.
"He would kill Rudy Gobert. I'm talking about prime Shaq. I'm talking about from 1992-2003. Man... Rudy, do you realize you gave up 42 points to Ben Simmons? Shaq would have a Wilt Chamberlain game. Shaq would score 100 points on Rudy Gobert."
While Ben Simmons and Gobert do not play in the same position, Simmons did almost all of his damage in the paint against a team that has one of the most decorated centers in NBA history.
While we wait ... the night that Ben Simmons scored 42 points (without taking a 3), handed out 12 assists and grabbed 9 boards on Rudy Gobert. youtube.com/watch?v=EbezMU…
If one of the best centers in the current generation is going to stand a chance against Big Diesel, he will need to protect the paint much better than he did against Ben Simmons.
One advantage Gobert would have against O'Neal that he did not have against Ben Simmons is that he would be able to commit almost entirely to defending the paint against the Hall of Famer.
Still, Shannon Sharpe believes that O'Neal would dominate in his own way and do more damage than Simmons did to Gobert.
Shannon Sharpe believes Shaq would "kill" Rudy Gobert because he did it to better centers.
During his prime, O'Neal was one of the most dominant offensive players. Between 1992-2003, he faced some of the best defensive players in NBA history and dominated them.
His dominance over fellow Hall of Famers is part of why Shannon Sharpe believes that Gobert will not be able to stop BIg Diesel.
"I get it, but you're not finna see no Shaq. Shaq is eating the lunch of way better defensive centers than you. I think (Hakeem) Olajuwon is a better defensive center and a better overall center because he has no offensive game."
.@ShannonSharpe reacts to Rudy Gobert saying he'd lock up Shaq:
"Rudy, do you realize you gave up 42 points to Ben Simmons? Shaq would have a Wilt Chamberlain game and score 100 on Rudy." https://t.co/04pWLXUvM5
While scoring 100 might be unlikely given how good of a defender Gobert is, Sharpe is probably right in thinking that locking down the Hall of Famer would be almost impossible.