“In their eyes, I’m more like the odd guy from France that’s winning a lot of awards, and it can bother people.” After a tough playoff exit, Rudy Gobert addressed the hate and criticism towards him. But since the end of last season, the narrative about the 4x DPOY not being elite has grown louder. Shaquille O’Neal has been the biggest and the loudest critic of them all. But Carmelo Anthony had a measured stance for the beef. And there is one former teammate of the French Center, who beefed with him before but recently came to his rescue.

Donovan Mitchell appeared on Carmelo Anthony’s ‘7PM in Brooklyn’ podcast and was asked about the level of difficulty for the scorers in the league.  “Can you break down for people just how hard it is and, you too Champ cuz it’s like yo when the team is game planning for you. All due respect to Rudy Gobert. They’re not game-planning for him, they are game-planning for you.”

The serious question from c0-host Kid Mero had a sudden diss for the Wolves star, which Mitchell and Carmelo Anthony did not expect, and they burst out laughing. “Leave Rudy Alone!” Amidst the laughter, the current Cleveland star came to his former teammate’s defense. Before that, he also said, “Sacrebleu” expressing his surprise over the sneak diss. But there was a time when the two former stars did not see eye to eye during their spell in Utah.

“Basketball just didn’t work. We didn’t see eye to eye.” That’s how Mitchell described his time alongside Gobert. It all started when the Center was infamously the first NBA player to ever test positive for the virus in March 2020. Later, there were also reports suggesting that he was responsible for infecting Mitchell.

In 2o22, both of them found new homes, not before another report suggested Gobert’s issue with Mitchell. Suggesting that the former had reached a “him or me” stance with the latter. Knowing the history between the two, it may come as a surprise that the guard came in support of the Center. Similarly, Carmelo Anthony thought that the Wolves star was not at fault.

Carmelo Anthony backs Rudy Gobert amidst diss from Shaquille O’Neal

The Lakers legend had previously called out his fellow Big as WOAT. Gobert had heard enough criticism until this point, especially the point where Shaq called him undeserving for the latest 205k contract. So the 32-year-old took to X to set the record straight and questioned O’Neal “still be triggered by another man’s finances and accomplishments.”

Carmelo Anthony sided with Gobert with a very valid point. “It’s not Rudy’s fault, though. It’s not his, I’ma let him go, but it’s not Rudy’s fault. Like, it’s market value,” he mentioned on ‘7PM in Brooklyn’ podcast. According to him, the French Center earnings are not to be used as a crutch to belittle the performances.

After all, he has played over  757 career games in his 10-year NBA career. Also managed to average 12.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Yes, there might be a few flaws in his game, but the constant attack seems unnecessary at this point. That’s why even former teammate Mitchell came to his rescue.

“Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.”