Have You Seen This? Even Shaq tipped his cap to Rudy Gobert after monster game

GETTING HIS FLOWERS — Shaquille O'Neal has never been the biggest fan of Rudy Gobert.

Heck, just last summer, when asked to name the worst player in the NBA, O'Neal singled out the former Jazz center.

"I'm not hating, I'm telling you the truth," O'Neal said when later asked about those comments. "If you don't like the truth, that's something you got to deal with. So now it's out there, it's viral. Show what you gonna do, Rudy … Shut me up."

Well, you can say Gobert did just that on Wednesday.

Or, at the very least, he got O'Neal to speak a little more positively about his game.

Gobert had 27 points and 24 rebounds in the Minnesota Timberwolves' close-out win over the Los Angeles Lakers, which made Shaq eat some words.

"I never thought I would say these words that were coming out of my mouth," O'Neal said during halftime of the game as he pretended to upchuck. "Rudy Gobert is dominating."

"See me and (Charles Barkley) always say Minnesota needs to take him out because they don't use him offensively. ... I hate to say it, Ernie (Johnson), Kenny (Smith), Chuck — Rudy Gobert is dominating."

Gobert had 15 points in the first half of the 103-96 win. He ended up playing 39 minutes and was arguably the best player in a game featuring Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Anthony Edwards. Not bad.

However, one former teammate wasn't surprised.

"He did what he was suppose to do!" former Jazz big Derrick Favors said on social media. "Everyone hates on him until he's on your team and then you appreciate him."

To Favors' point, O'Neal is far from the only player who seems to have a beef with Gobert. The former Jazz center's game doesn't often translate to big numbers, at least on the surface. His team's defensive ratings and his on/off numbers have helped him win four Defensive Player of the Year awards, but most point to the highlight-reel plays against him, like Doncic's 3-pointer during last season's Western Conference Finals.

That's why he's often voted as one of the most overrated players in The Athletic's annual player poll (he landed second on this season's edition).

On Wednesday, though, Gobert finally got his flowers — even from the unlikeliest of sources.

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