As dominant as Shaquille O'Neal was in his celebrated 19-year career in the NBA, he had one glaring weakness that opponents often exploited: his abysmal free-throw shooting. Since he usually played like a freight train wearing a basketball jersey, opposing defenders were left with no choice but to clobber him in the shaded lane.
Unfortunately, the Diesel couldn't consistently make shots from the charity stripe, shooting just 52.7 percent from the line. According to his former teammate on the Los Angeles Lakers , Robert Horry , Shaq actually put in a lot of hours practicing his free throws, and it was during those sessions where they forged a bond.
Contrary to what many assumed, Shaq did care a lot about his percentage. Even though he knew he was targeted on purpose, he wanted to make defenses pay for fouling him all game long. So, he did whatever he could to try and improve his free throws. From spending countless hours shooting to trying out different forms, Shaq certainly didn't lack effort when it came to his free throws.
"All the conversations we used to have during practice — we'd shoot free throws together every day," Horry relayed during his appearance on the "Byron Scott's Fast Break" podcast.
"I'd sit there like, 'Dude, you done changed your form again. Damn. Oh, this one gonna work?'" Big Shot Bob continued. "We used to laugh about it. I would see him make so many free throws in a row."
In a separate interview, Shaq admitted that making free throws in practice was never a problem. In fact, he went as far as to compare himself to renowned shooter Steve Kerr when it came to making them from the line.
"I was a Steve Kerr practice free-throw shooter. I shot it like Steve Kerr in practice, 88% or 85%. I really did practice it because I was tired of people saying he could not hit them. Because of my practice, I was hitting them when I needed them," Shaq said .
Aside from poor form, mental barriers often hinder players from making free throws. The pressure of the game and the weight of the outcome can cause even the best players to falter at the line. Shaq seemed to have a mental block when it came to free throws in games. Despite his success in practice, he often struggled to replicate that same level of accuracy in game situations.
Horry, being a veteran player with experience and wisdom, knew how to approach Shaq and help him work through those mental barriers.
"If you ever go back and look at some clips when he's at the free-throw line, you'll see me walk up to him and say something crazy like, 'Yo man, you gonna make this one? You'd better make it — Halle Berry sitting right there. You miss this, we f***ing lose, man, and you don't get that big deal you want,'" Horry said, revealing some of the tactics he used to motivate Shaq.
"Just something wild to get him to stop thinking so much about the shot — because I knew in practice, when he wasn't thinking, he'd just shoot and it'd go in. So I'd always try to get him to relax and just shoot," he continued.
Still, Shaq's performance at the charity stripe remained notoriously inconsistent. While he often insisted he could make free throws when they mattered most, the reality was that every trip to the line was an adventure.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Oct 14, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
