For decades, the Minnesota Timberwolves organization have dealt with way more drama than winning. During the good times, the Wolves have found it nearly impossible to rise out of NBA mediocrity. In the bad times, they’ve struggled rise to stay atop the NBA Draft Lottery.

Coincidentally (or not), the Wolves’ place in the year-end league standings started to shift upwards shortly after their lottery luck improved. It started in 2015, when Minnesota landed No. 1 overall and drafted Karl-Anthony Towns. Then, the franchise was changed forever five years later (2020), when they won the lottery again, and drafted blossoming NBA phenom, Anthony Edwards.

Shaquille O’Neal reveals how Minnesota Timberwolves (probably) got screwed in the 1992 NBA Draft Lottery

But… could things have changed much much sooner than the 2020s? Maybe even prior to Kevin Garnett, who was selected by the Timberwolves No. 5 overall in 1995? Well, Shaquille O’Neal — who was drafted by the Orlando Magic No. 1 overall in 1992 out of LSU — wonders exactly that from time to time.

Recently, during an interview with independent sports reporter/personality, Ashley Nevel, Shaq rehashed a draft story he has told before, but one that many Wolves fans probably have not heard. It was born in 1992, when during a promotional event Shaquille O’Neal met former NBA commissioner David Stern, for the first time.

Related: Report: Rudy Gobert Dumps Pregnant Girlfriend, Kicks Her Out of House

Back then, Shaq was the cinch No.1 overall pick. So, Stern pulled him aside and asked O’Neal point-blank, whether he’d prefer to play in, “hot or cold” weather. Of course, Shaq answered, “hot”… and the rest is history conspiracy theory.

"In 1992… I meet Mr. [David] Stern… he pulled me to the side, 'You want to play where it's cold or where it's hot?' And I was like, 'hot.' And he smiled and I smiled… Orlando, Florida was No. 1."

– Shaq 😲

(via @AshleyNevel)pic.twitter.com/7c7ZbNWPWc

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 19, 2025

Shaq: “In 1992, I meet Mr. Stern in March. He says to me, ‘Hey, I can’t wait for you to come to the NBA.’ Then, he pulled me to the side, ‘Do you want to play where it’s cold or where it’s hot?’.

Ashley: “No…”

Shaq: “Yeah, he did. He asked me that. And I was like, ‘Hot’. He smiled, I smiled. A couple days later, they had the [NBA Draft Lottery] and Minnesota was No. 3. I was like, hmm. Then Charlotte was No. 2 and Orlando, FL was No. 1.”

Shaq on the NBA Draft Lottery possibly being rigged (via interview with Ashley Nevel)

I didn’t think much about it, but you hear a lot of these conspiracy theories and there’s a lot of situations that can make it sound true…so I don’t want to support conspiracy theories or anything but it was very interesting how it all played out.”

Entering that 1992 NBA lottery drawing, which was held in Portland, Oregon on June 24, 1992, the 15-67 Minnesota Timberwolves held the highest odds of any other team in the league (16.67%) to land the No. 1 overall pick, which was obviously going to be Shaq.

Related: Minnesota Timberwolves Open as Huge Underdogs…?

The Orlando Magic held the second-best odds, at (15.15%). Not only did the Magic jump the Wolves, though, as O’Neal mentioned. So did the Hornets, who selected Alonzo Mourning at No. 2 overall, before Minnesota picked Christian Laettner No. 3 overall.

Mavs trading Luka Doncic then landing No. 1 sparks memories from 1992

Prior to the Mavs landing the No. 1 overall pick in 2025, despite only having 1.8% chance — right after shocking the basketball world by gifting Luka Doncic to the Lakers via trade — the most tangible example of an NBA Draft Lottery conspiracy came from Shaq avoiding the Wolves in 1992.

A preview clip has been uploaded by the host of that podcast, however. Ashley Vevel , an independent sports personality and to the top of the NBA Draft Lottery It’s the first time in franchise history that has ever happened.

Throw in plenty of incompetency at the ownership and executive levels… and just like th in with thoseput competent leaders at the most important spots in the organization get what they deserve in the NBA Draft Lottery.

Anthony Edwards fires stray at Shaq

Among the most notable things to take place during last year’s NBA season was the debut of Anthony Edwards’ signature shoe, the AE1. And with the AE1, we also got the AE1 commercials, which is the gift that keeps on giving. This time, it’s a Halloween version, and it includes a stray for Shaq.

The scariest player in the game.#BelieveThat pic.twitter.com/0SZuArUht9

— adidas Basketball (@adidasHoops) October 31, 2024

“I’ve heard he’s collected every rim that he’s broken. He’s probably broken more than Shaq! Who?!”

Adidas AE1 commercial

The 7’1″, 325 pound center has certainly taken down a few rims in his day. He now sits behind a desk pointing fingers at some of Edwards’ teammates, specifically Rudy Gobert. Obviously, Adidas content creators had that beef in mind when drawing up the script for this commercial.

MVP season coming for Minnesota Timberwolves superstar?

That certainly could be why he was the main target for a quick stray. While an assortment of kids tell the spooky stories of Ant Man, it’s Edwards himself who makes quite the declaration to close it out.

Related: Julius Randle Making It Clear He Wants Timberwolves Stay to be Long Term

“I heard Ant Man finna have an MVP season, and take his dogs to the championship. Believe that.”

Anthony Edwards (Adidas)

A HARD fought game from the Timberwolves & Anthony Edwards 😮‍💨

He finished with a team high 29 points and shot 7-14 from three 🔥 https://t.co/GTt39ijGjZ pic.twitter.com/m6L9x9B728

— NBA TV (@NBATV) November 2, 2024

That would certainly be an incredible outcome for Edwards and the Timberwolves. On Friday night facing a solid Denver Nuggets team that Minnesota bounced in the playoffs last year, Edwards backed it up.

He hit a game sealing floater and ripped off 29 points. Notably he nailed 7-of-14 three-pointers (50%), and has been on a Steph Curry pace to start the season. He doesn’t care what you think about it either.

Asked Anthony Edwards what he would say to someone who thinks he's shooting too many 3s… pic.twitter.com/NITAeEVGi7

— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 2, 2024

Related: Rudy Gobert Deal Paves Way for Two More Timberwolves Contract Extensions

This is the sort of killer attitude that it takes for someone to reach the mountaintop. This is the attitude that Michael Jordan had. This is the attitude that will take Edwards to the next level.

Shaq’s one of Gobert’s biggest haters in a world that has a lot of them. The former Los Angeles Lakers legend has long been on his soapbox, trashing the Minnesota Timberwolves’ center any time he can. Of course, that naturally includes during the offseason, when basketball critics have nothing else to do. On Wednesday, the Hall of Fame center was back at it, showing everyone just how much rent Gobert occupies inside Shaq’s head.

Related: Shaq Trashes Rudy Gobert as an Overrated Defender Who Can’t Shutdown Other Bigs

Shaq calls Rudy Gobert the NBA’s worst player

Who’s the worst player in the NBA today? That’s a question that could generate about 100 different answers, depending on which fanbases are polled. But Shaquille O’Neal has a different answer, and it’s one absolutely no one would expect.

When asked who the worst player in the NBA is, Shaq didn’t hesitate. He quickly answered, “Rudy Gobert.” It seems like a complete joke, but O’Neal said this with a straight face. This should come as no surprise to Timberwolves fans who have long heard about the hate Shaq has in his heart for the 7-foot-1 Frenchman.

“Ben Simmons is another bum. No, because you know why? I’m going to tell you why. If you sign a contract for $250 (million), show me 250. There’s a reason why I walk funny, why I can’t turn my neck and why I can’t do it because I played for my $120 (million). So you got guys like him that f–k the system over there making all this money and they can’t f–ing play. So I don’t respect guys like that. You know every time I make these comments, people think I’m hating but these are facts. You got teachers, you got firemen, you’ve got doctors who have real jobs and don’t get paid s–t.”

Shaquille O’Neal calling Rudy Gobert the NBA’s worst player

Shaq named his pick for the Worst NBA Player of All Time… 😶 pic.twitter.com/tsEqJFl2qP

— Complex (@Complex) September 4, 2024

Even the host couldn’t contain his laughter. Like most of the world, he realizes the idea of Gobert being the NBA’s worst player is an absolute joke. Shaq may not appreciate the four-time All-NBA center or his contract, but he’s still a very good player.

• Rudy Gobert stats (2023): 14 PPG, 12.9 RPG (2nd in NBA), 2.1 BPG, 19.3 PER, 11.6 WS

After all, Gobert earned that contract. If the Jazz hadn’t signed Gobert to a five-year, $205 million contract in 2020, several other teams would have.

And that’s how the world works. You’re only worth as much as someone is willing to pay you, and the cold, hard truth is Gobert is a very valuable player. The Timberwolves realize this, but that won’t help Gobert earn any respect from Shaq.

Related: Shaq Posts Brutal Meme of Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert gets postered by Brazilian nobody

Gobert played only 18 minutes, scoring 7 points to go with 3 rebounds and 4 personal fouls. But in the 1st quarter, he landed on the wrong end of possibly the most brutal poster dunk in Olympic basketball history.

RUDY GOBERT POSTERIZED BY AN UBER DRIVER 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/1CVwStlwbY

— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) July 27, 2024

In case you didn’t know, Rudy has a fair share of haters who do not believe he deserves the money, HOF equity or 4 defensive player of the year awards. Those haters include current and former NBA players like Draymond Green, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaq takes shot at Gobert

A few hours after Rudy Gobert was put on a poster, Shaq took his hate to Instagram. The all-time great big man posted a brutal meme of Gobert’s head photoshopped onto a Walmart worker with the caption, “If Rudy Gobert wasn’t 7’1″”.

Shaq on IG 😭

He really hates Rudy Gobert pic.twitter.com/dvPbPTJVWC

— Hoops Nation (@_HoopsNation) July 27, 2024

This isn’t the first time Shaq has made his feeling clear on the 32-year-old cinch NBA Hall of Famer. Gobert has four defensive player of the year awards. He also has 3 All-Star appearances, 4 All-NBA teams and 7 NBA All-Defensive teams.

Related: Draymond Green is Still Talking About Rudy Gobert

Rudy may not be the most coordinated person to ever play in the NBA, and that feeds his haters’ fire. But there is a reason why every team he plays for is a top-5 defense. That’s why the Minnesota Timberwolves are likely to extend their star big man this offseason.

You know who has, though? Rudy Gobert has. Three times. Sure, Stifle Tower’s career will never measure up to to the Big Aristotle’s. The Minnesota Timberwolves big man doesn’t have the offensive talent that O’Neal did, so his ceiling is capped in that regard.

Shaq not impressed by Rudy Gobert’s defense

There really should be no debate, at this point, over whether or not Gobert is one of the best defensive players of the modern NBA. In fact, he deserves consideration when talking about the greatest post defenders ever. we’ve seen it here. He turned a below-average to poor defensive team and made them into one of the best in recent memory. But… don’t tell that to Shaq Diesel who is not impressed with Stifle Tower, even 11 seasons into his NBA career..

Shaq calls Rudy Gobert an overrated defender

"I never thought he was a great defensive player… See, what it is, there’s not a lot of centers that are making him play defense. Like, he’s not doing that s**t against Joker… He’s 7’6", of course, if you lay it up, he’s going to… pic.twitter.com/prSRdD7Zqw

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 13, 2024

“I never thought he was a great defensive player… See, what it is, there’s not a lot of centers that are making him play defense. Like, he’s not doing that shit against Joker… He’s 7’6”, of course, if you lay it up, he’s going to block it. But defense to me is — guard that mofo, shut him down. You want to impress me? Hold Joker under 15 points. Now you’re playing. All that weakside shot blocking, that’s cool. But it’s not going to work against guys like me and Joker and Embiid.”

Shaquille O’Neal on Rudy Gobert

Phew, I did not know Shaq Daddy had this type of animosity toward Rudy Gobert’s game. And is anyone going to inform Mr. O’Neal that he is the same height (7-foot-1) as Rudy? Also, for the record, the Timberwolves have only played one game against the Denver Nuggets so far this season (that’s about to change real quick). Jokic scored 25 points, in a Minnesota win.

Related: 10 Greatest Minnesota Timberwolves Players Of All-Time

But what the 31-year-old big man does have, however, is one of the best defensive resumes in NBA history. As mentioned, he already has three DPOY awards to his name, and he is a heavy favorite to win his fourth. If successful, he’d be just the third player in league history to do so. the others are hall of famers, Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.

Shaq’s hate comes with ulterior motives

Shaq didn’t use his mic time just to fire shots at Gobert, though. He wanted to throw his 2024 Defensive Player of the Year vote in for Miami’s Bam Adebayo, who currently holds the 4th-best odds (+3000) to win 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, a longshot behind the far and away favorite, Rudy Gobert (+1000).

It’s clear that Shaq Fu, who played 3 1/2 seasons in Miami, has a soft spot in his heart for another Heat center, but his propaganda isn’t going to stop Rudy Gobert from winning defensive player of the year over Bam Adebayo. Either that or he wants Rudy to bang down low with big men that just do not exist anymore. If there were centers in the league trying to post up down low on a nightly basis, it would be Gobert tasked with “shutting them down”.

Related: If A-Rod, Marc Lore Miss March Payment Deadline, Timberwolves Purchase Could Be Canceled

The Big Aristotle wants to philosophize over how a big man defends Nikola Jokic? Why do you think that is? The Nuggets have matched up with the Heat twice twice this season. Bam held him to 18 and 12 points, respectively… and Miami lost both games.