Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert finally broke his silence after being dealt with a handful of tirades from NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal. The Frenchman kept his cool and didn't fire back at O'Neal after insisting that he will continue to work despite the negativity surrounding him, via a Twitter post.
There is no beef. If people wanna keep speaking negatively about me or keep discrediting what i do it’s on them and all that does is show who they are. I will always be happy for a brother beating the odds. And i’m gonna keep beating the odds. https://t.co/l241ZQ2Qk4
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) January 4, 2021
O'Neal recently slammed Gobert largely in part of the lucrative five-year, $205 million contract that he signed prior to the season. The four-time NBA champion also posted on Instagram that he can put up 45 points and 16 rebounds in three quarters against Gobert who would only perform with a meager output of 11 points and four rebounds.
In O'Neal's defense, Gobert's numbers indeed show that he wasn't putting up game-changing performances that are expected from a player who inked the biggest contract for a center in league history. Through six games played, the All-Star big man averaged norms of 14.5 points and 13.7 rebounds in 30.0 minutes of action.
Gobert struggled anew and only came out with silent contributions in their most recent game against the San Antonio Spurs where he tallied seven points and 16 rebounds in 27 minutes. The Jazz heavily relied on Bojan Bogdanovic who produced 28 points along with Donovan Mitchell who came out with 22 points and nine assists.
With Gobert's teammates picking up the slack, the Jazz still managed to snag the 130-109 victory en route to a 4-2 record early in the season.
O'Neal's criticism could hopefully fuel Rudy Gobert to show that he hasn't lost a step and prove that he is indeed worthy of landing the huge paycheck that was rewarded to him.
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