Hack-a-Shaq
Is This Tactic Unfair?
By Daniel Muniz

When the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Phoenix Suns from the 2008 playoffs, many sports analysts were furious. Throughout each grinding playoff game, the Spurs had successfully employed the Hack-a-Shaq against the Sun’s center, Shaquille O’Neal, with devastating impact. As a result, many sports commentators and other critics were outraged. They demanded that the NBA change their rules in order to stop other teams from using this tactic on anybody else. So is there any merit to this complaint and what should the NBA do?

First, a little bit of background is needed.

Hack-a-Shaq is named after the gargantuan center Shaquille O'Neal although this strategy had long preceded him. In 1997, Dennis Rodman of the Chicago Bulls had a lousy free throw shooting average of 38% of that season, so this technique was employed against him back in the nineties. However, it’s just that Shaq had been in the NBA for so long that the moniker stuck especially because it sounds catchy.

Also, lots of teams have tried this approach on the various franchises that O’Neal has played for. And they did so mostly because they really didn’t have a choice. He is a giant of a center in weight as well as in height. Shaquille O’Neal is also a rugged type of player that no one else can intimidate.

Unfortunately, Shaq, just like Dennis Rodman, had the Achilles’ heal of being a lousy free throw shooter.

So teams would rather intentionally foul O’Neal so that he can botch the free throws rather than allowing him to dominate the paint for easy baskets.

And in the 2008 playoffs, the Spurs roasted the Suns with the Hack-a-Shaq. Not only did Shaq botch enough free throws, but the constant barrage of intentional fouls disrupted the tempo that the Suns had tried to establish. And with their rhythm broken, the Suns were vanquished again from the playoffs.

But the bottom line of the criticism is whether or not using the Hack-a-Shaq on anybody is unfair?

However, the first thing to ask is just what do you mean by unfair?

In any competitive sport, anything and everything is unequal because there is no such thing as identical people (including twins) of equal talents. So the brutal honesty is that sports in of itself is all about being unfair.

For example, Shaquille O’Neal is the embodiment of being unequal. So should the NBA ban all seven footers because after all, his height gives him an unfair advantage to everyone else?

And what about the monstrosity of his 300 plus pound physique; is that unfair? Should the NBA also ban big people; a behemoth girth is unfair (and dangerous) to everyone else?

Nobody in the NBA wants to ban players who have advantages and exceptional skills over other players but there is a crusade to ban teams from exploiting someone else’s weaknesses.

But a weakness is just a harsh reality that all teams have to deal with. There is no way to get around it.

And in a game like basketball, almost everybody has a strength as well as a weakness in something. If a player has a liability, then he has to deal with it. And if he doesn’t find an answer, then other teams are going to take advantage of it and that is probably true of any competitive sport that is played.

In contrast, the Spurs also had an Achilles heal with their power forward, Tim Duncan. He wasn’t anywhere as bad as Shaquille O’Neal but Timmy was always a bad free throw shooter. Although other teams didn’t apply a Hack-a-Shaq on Tim Duncan but they did aggressively guard him which invariably resulted in fouling him numerous times. Coaches didn’t mind that because the foul could almost be worth it if he botched the free throws.

However, Duncan’s free throw shooting has improved and a number of teams slacked off on the aggressiveness because he has started making his free throws, especially in critical junctions of a game.

So in other words, Hack-a-Shaq could easily backfire and it has for a number of teams throughout the years.

Overall, perhaps nothing can be more detrimental for a team than a player who has a glaring weakness.

If that weakness becomes a liability, then it has to be rectified with more practice and better physical training. And if it cannot be resolved, then a team has to live with it or get rid of the player.

But all the whining about Hack-a-Shaq has to stop!

Teams have used it on Shaquille O’Neal when he was with the Lakers and it didn’t stop that franchise from winning championships. There are ways to overcome it and the Lakers did just that. And that’s why it hasn’t become commonplace in the NBA. Too many teams have found creative ways to circumvent it and the ones who didn’t, like the Phoenix Suns in the 2008 playoffs, paid the price.

Any opinions or views expressed herein belong solely to the author and does not represent any employer, organization, political party, governmental agency, or any other entity and do not necessarily reflect the views of the site owner or its participants.