Shaquille O’Neal continues to prove Kendrick Perkins right.

For someone so deeply embedded in the modern game — not just as a Hall of Famer but a prominent voice on one of basketball’s most-watched TV shows — O’Neal can’t seem to resist doing what so many people have an issue with in NBA coverage. For better or worse, he’s cast himself in the role of just another ex-player bitter about how the game has changed, how much money today’s stars make, and how little they resemble the era he dominated.

O’Neal’s grudge against Rudy Gobert resurfaced again this week, serving as a reminder of his personal disdain for modern players and the current game that NBA fans can expect more of once Inside the NBA moves to ESPN in 2025. And in doing little to quell concerns about those like him hijacking coverage to settle old scores, Shaq reignited his war of words with Gobert.

Shaq on Rudy Gobert:

“I f***ing hate Rudy Gobert… If Rudy Gobert get into the Hall of Fame, I’ll wear this dress to the motherf***ing ceremony.” 🤣 pic.twitter.com/7uB3xmjgNP

— The Big Podcast (@bigpodwithshaq) July 23, 2025

“As the president of the Big Man Alliance,” O’Neal said, “if you’re making big man money, play like a f*cking big man. That’s it. Throw some balls. Knock some people out. Don’t be letting little white dudes from Denver dunk on you and talk sh*t. And then you’ve got to grab them by the neck at the last second? Come on, bro. If you’re going to f*cking get paid big money, f*cking play big.”

He didn’t stop there. When Adam Lefkoe quipped that he still wanted to be on TV the day Gobert — a four-time Defensive Player of the Year and likely Hall of Fame inductee — is enshrined in Springfield, Shaq upped the ante.

“If Rudy Gobert gets into the Hall of Fame, I’ll wear this dress to the motherf*cking ceremony,” O’Neal said.

It’s not a new feud. It’s just a festering one, reignited with the same bitterness that’s become a defining part of Shaq’s post-playing legacy.

After calling him “the worst player in the history of the league,” nearly 10 months ago, Gobert responded on social media by calling Shaq “triggered” and accusing him of taking cheap shots at modern players just to “stay relevant.” And while it’s easy to write this off as just another generational spat, the deeper issue is that O’Neal’s entire media persona now seems powered by belittling today’s big men.

From JaVale McGee to Dwight Howard and now Rudy Gobert, Shaq has made it his mission to tear down any center whose game doesn’t resemble his own. But for someone who has strong opinions about how the game should be played, he’s openly admitted to not actually watching much of it.

Even Kendrick Perkins has called him out for it. Shaq himself confessed he stopped watching the NBA Finals before Game 3.

This is the same Shaq who went viral for crediting Chauncey Billups as the head coach of the Detroit Pistons, which would be an interesting development if it weren’t completely wrong. Billups, of course, coaches the Portland Trail Blazers. J.B. Bickerstaff is the current Pistons coach. When Candace Parker called him out on the mistake, Shaq shrugged it off: “I don’t watch Detroit.”

That’s the larger problem. O’Neal still wields influence, still draws ratings, and still matters as a television presence, but he doesn’t seem to care much for the NBA as it exists now. He’s become a walking contradiction as the face of one of basketball’s most beloved media brands, who refuses to engage seriously with today’s players or the modern game.

And soon, he’ll be doing it on ESPN.

If NBA fans and media members alike already had issues with how ESPN covers the league, the addition of Shaquille O’Neal might only amplify those concerns. And while there’s been a promise that Stephen A. Smith won’t infiltrate Inside the NBA, there’s been no such guarantee that Shaq won’t use his platform to pick another fight with Gobert, or any big man, for that matter.