Shaquille O’Neal is known for being one of the most dominant players in the history of the NBA. The colossal center marauded along the court with incredible agility, even with his massive frame. But no one is perfect, and the same applies to Shaq.

Despite his dominance on the court, the former Lakers C always fell short when it came to free throws. With only 52.7% success from free throws, it had always been his Achilles heel. Speaking of it on “TheOldMan&TheThree” podcast, Shaq said, “When I’m in my house shooting, I look like you,” addressing the host, JJ Redick. He added, “Everybody would be mad that when I [got] in the game, it wouldn’t convert… It was a humbling experience from the man upstairs.”

Despite his shortcomings from the stripe, Shaq didn’t have any problem adding 4 NBA championships to his name. He previously mentioned that he believed God planned to keep him humble.

But why exactly was he so bad at the free-throw line? The Big Aristotle explained the reason behind it.

Shaquille O'Neal talks about free throws

Shaquille O’Neal (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

Shaquille O’Neal Blamed NBA Balls for His Free Throw Woes

With the game’s evolution throughout the years, the basketballs used in games have also evolved. There are considerable differences in basketball from its genesis days to the modern one.

To explain his free throw troubles, Shaquille O’Neal once revealed in his Big Podcast with Shaq that he didn’t like the NBA balls back in the day. “I don’t know why I shot like that…I hope people don’t take this the wrong way. I hated the dark-skinned ball. Just don’t worry about how it sounds. The light-skinned ball…They got black balls and the yellow balls.” (After 11:13)


The NBA Hall of Famer indicated that the old balls didn’t have the desired grip on them and hence led to inaccuracies in his free throws. While there is some scientific fact behind that, it doesn’t justify his horrible numbers as everyone on the court should’ve experienced the ball issue. Despite that, it is up to everyone’s imagination how Shaq’s career would’ve been if he had the sharpshooting ability in his arsenal.