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Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Shaquille O'Neal On Struggling To Hit Free Throws: 'It Was A Humbling Experience From The Man Upstairs'

Originally posted on Fadeaway World | By Gautam Varier | Last updated May 6, 2024 4:32 PM ET

Shaquille O'Neal is undoubtedly one of the greatest players to have ever played in the NBA, but he had one Achilles heel, free throws. O'Neal shot a woeful 52.7% from the line for his career and during an appearance on The Old Man and the Three podcast, he spoke about his struggles hitting free throws during his career.

"It would piss me off because, when I'm in my house shooting, I look like you," O'Neal told JJ Redick. "And everybody would be mad that when I get in the game, it wouldn't convert. I don't know if it was a concentration thing, I say it was a humbling experience from the man upstairs."

O'Neal claimed he would hit free throws when it mattered most, but just couldn't get it done on a consistent basis in games. He had visited various shot doctors and whatnot, but nothing worked.

"I practiced on that more than I practiced on my moves," O'Neal continued. "... When I'm at the crib, my s*** was butter but when I got in the game sometimes (throws hands up in the air)."

O'Neal made it clear he did not need to visit a sports psychologist for his problems. The 52-year-old then got to calculating how many points he would have ended up with, had he not missed a lot of time due to injuries and hit a higher percentage of his free throws.

"I'm at 28, 28,000 right? I missed 250 games because of injury. I'd average 28 but let's just bring it down to 25, so another what? 5,000 points? So, that'll put me at 33," O'Neal stated. "Let's say I just bring my free throw percentage up a little bit, I'd be at 30, 34, 36,000 points. That's your f***ing fault that you didn't get there."

(starts at 0:42 mark):

O'Neal missed a whopping 5,317 free throws in his career. Had he let's say, shot 70% from the line, he would have scored about 2,000 more points. That would have meant the 15-time All-Star, who finished his career with 28,596 points, would have been part of that illustrious 30,000-point club

If what O'Neal says is true, about him being able to hit free throws when he was at home, then his struggles on the court were clearly mental. Perhaps going to a sports psychologist might have helped, but he didn't feel the need for that.

O'Neal's struggles at the line meant the infamous 'Hack-a-Shaq' strategy was employed by teams. It infuriated him, but teams found it to be the most effective strategy against him and it worked from time to time.

Shaquille O'Neal Says Only Hall Of Famers And Former NBA Players Should Be Allowed To Vote For MVP

When you think of how great of a player O'Neal was, it seems shocking that he only ever won MVP once. The big man hasn't been the biggest fan of the voters as a result and O'Neal suggested that only 50 Hall of Famers and 50 ex-players should vote for the MVP award.

"It should be Hall of Famers and ex-players only, 50 Hall of Famers and 50 ex-players that's it that's how voting should be."

"All these earthlings like Stephen A. and Shannon Sharpe and you know Mad Dog and all no, I'm just saying like they shouldn't get votes. It should be 50 Hall of Famers and 50 ex-players that they understand the game."

That is quite an idea, but it will never be implemented. I don't necessarily believe that former players themselves will always get it right. They have their own biases and let's be real, a lot of them won't be sitting and watching all the games either.

This article first appeared on Fadeaway World and was syndicated with permission.

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