Kevin Durant and Shaq seem to have an increasing amount of friction and tension. Both these NBA legends have been going at each other through social media, taking either subtle or obvious jabs at each other. KD has recently responded on Twitter to Shaq, who was taking shots at Rudy Gobert and his contract situation.
Rudy Gobert, also known as the “Stifel tower” is perhaps one of the best defensive centers in the NBA. Despite this, Shaq has taken several shots at Rudy throughout his career. This is also largely because several analysts have attempted to compare Gobert’s defense capabilities and stats to Shaquille O’Neal. This has only made Shaq go even more out of his way to criticize the Utah Jazz Center. Only this time, Durant chimed in as well.
Kevin Durant thinks Shaq is petty when it comes to Rudy Gobert
O’Neal can be considered one of the most dominant forces in the game of basketball. With that being said, he has also been critical of several players of this generation. He thinks they are “snowflakes” and does not believe they could compare to the players back in his time. Perhaps, there is no one Shaq has criticized more than Rudy Gobert in the past few years.

Shaq was asked what he thought about this generation of players such as Gobert. He did not hold back and made it clear that he believed Rudy does not deserve a 250 million dollar deal that came his way. Additionally, he went on to explain that it makes him mad and petty.
Shaq didn’t hold back 👀 pic.twitter.com/NcizQ1wI3W
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 28, 2022
In all fairness, Shaq is exaggerating regarding how much money Rudy is making. The Jazz Center signed a 5 year $205 million contract. A whole 45 million lower than what Shaq claimed Rudy was making. Durant who noticed this saw his chance to take a shot at Shaq. He simply shared the original tweet with the caption “Shaquille is hilarious. you’re a billionaire bro lol“.
Shaquille is hilarious. You’re a billionaire bro lol https://t.co/11Bq3EIY6i
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 28, 2022
It is amusing to notice that both KD and Shaq didn’t get their numbers right in this situation. Shaq was wrong\innacurate in saying “250 million” when even Giannis Antetokounmpo’s and Steph Curry’s contracts do not reach that number.
On the other hand, Kevin Durant may or may not know that Shaq is only worth around 400 million-500 million dollars. Yet, he chose to call him a billionaire, when he might have clearly known Shaq is nowhere close. NBA Twitter is definitely funny!