Hack-a-Shaq - O'Neal's Response

O'Neal's Response

While playing, O'Neal's attitude toward the strategy was generally one of defiance, claiming that he would make the most crucial free throws "when they count", and that the strategy simply would not work against him.

O'Neal reached a low point in his free throw shooting during the 2000–01 season, finding himself at a miserable 38% on the season in December 2000. At that time, the Lakers hired Ed Palubinskas (a 90% free throw shooter during his own playing days, and the 1976 Olympic scoring champion) to help coach O'Neal. The tactic seemed to eventually pay dividends and O'Neal shot almost 68% over the last 15 games of that season, and finishing the last home game of the regular season against Denver making 13 of 13 from the line prompting O'Neal at one point to loudly bark, "It doesn't work any more!" at his opposition when the Hack-a-Shaq strategy was being used.

Ultimately however, O'Neal ceased his work with Palubinskas and was unable to maintain the level of success he found late in that 2000–01 season. O'Neal managed to consistently shoot free throws slightly better for the next two seasons than he had earlier in his career. However, he only managed to break 60% over a full season just one time: in the 2002–03 season. And after that season, his free throw shooting got much worse, remaining consistently below 50%. Despite his regression, O'Neal eschewed the idea of any further special coaching to improve his free-throw shooting.

O'Neal called Nelson "a clown" for using the strategy. In his next game against O'Neal, Nelson showed up wearing a clown nose. During the 2008–09 preseason, O'Neal expressed his disapproval of San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and his team's use of the Hack-a-Shaq during the first round of the 2008 playoffs:

The only thing I call cowardly is when you're up by 10 and do it. That's a coward move and knows that and I'll make them pay for it. doesn't work. You know San Antonio tried it but they went home a couple weeks after we went home. I just have to go to the line and hit them and make them pay, and I will, I'm not worried.

—Shaquille O'Neal

On October 29, 2008, Popovich poked fun at O'Neal, having Michael Finley commit an intentional foul five seconds into the first game of the regular season, an idea he said he got from a media member. O'Neal laughed when he looked over to the Spurs bench and saw Popovich smiling while giving two thumbs up, further asserting that it was a joke.