Hack-a-Shaq

Hack-a-Shaq is a basketball strategy initially instituted in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by the Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson to hinder the scoring ability of the opposing team by continuously committing personal fouls against one of its opposing players, the player chosen being the one with the weakest free throw percentage among players on the court. The strategy has been curtailed somewhat starting in the 2016-17 NBA season, as intentional away-from-the-play fouls committed within the final 2 minutes of any period and overtime will result in one shot for the fouled team and possession of the ball.

Nelson initially devised the strategy for use against the Chicago Bulls, specifically power forward Dennis Rodman, who was a poor free throw shooter. However, it ultimately became better-known for its implementation against center Shaquille O'Neal, also known for his low free throw percentage. The name of the strategy is sometimes altered to reflect the player being fouled, for example Hack-a-Howard for Dwight Howard.

The Hack-a-Shaq name was originally used during O'Neal's college playing days at LSU and during his NBA tenure with the Orlando Magic. At that time, however, the term referred simply to opposing teams employing an especially physical style of play in defending against O'Neal. Teams sometimes defended him by bumping, striking or pushing him after he received the ball in order to ensure that he did not score easily with layups or slam dunks. Because of O'Neal's poor free throw shooting, teams did not fear the consequences having personal fouls called against them when using such tactics. However, once Nelson's off-the-ball fouling strategy became prevalent, the term Hack-a-Shaq was applied to this new tactic, and the original usage was largely forgotten.

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