Why Can't Shaq hit a FREAKIN free throw??

Question

It doesn't seem that hard, plus he's been in the league for like a 100 yrs now, he has his own personal gym in his house, and he almost eye level with the basketball. You would think he would have gotten it down by now. Why can't he just make it, my 6 yr old brother could even make one!!

Answer 1

He sweats into his eyes too much.

Answer 2

he dosent wanna practice them

Answer 3

his hands are like twice the size of a normal human...so the ball is rally small 2 him

Answer 4

Haz been! Was, but no longer is any good.

Answer 5

the mans hands a GIANT. the ball is like a golf ball to you and i. i am sure that has something to do with it

Answer 6

in my opinion...it's because his hands are Huge, he's able to palm the ball so easily that it affects the way the ball comes off of his hands. and to add to that misfortune his form consist of him holding the B-ball like a maitre'd carrying food to a table. it's kind of like trying to do a finger roll on a mini hoop with the small ball, it doesn't roll off the hands smoothly.

Answer 7

his big a** hands. he palms the ball when shooting when its pose to roll of the finger tips. he could have worked on that but obviously he don't care n never worked on it. we talking bout practice man!

Answer 8

Your asking that now?  Shaq is at the end of his career, he's never been able to hit free throws.  Still one of my all time favorite bball players though.

Answer 9

he is easily affected by pressure. Everyone has a weak shot they just cant hit. Mine is from the elbow. His is the foul shot!

Answer 10

The free throw line of the NBA league's length is different than other basketball courts.

I guess it's just talents,he was,is, one of the most ferocious and most dominant center ever.But if he's so good at that aspect,God will make you bad at another aspect.

Answer 11

half of it is because his hands are bigger than most people, so it is harder for him to grip and aim his shots shooting freethrow.

that's why he has to play near the rim and usually dunks or use one hand to score.  

and the other half is because he's lazy, and kinda sucks.

Answer 12

FOOL YOU ARE DUMB HIS HANDS ARE ALMOST BIGGER THAN THE BALL OF COURSE HE CANT SO DUHHH

Answer 13

His hand is as big as the ball...

Answer 14

It's all mental. He's not the only one who's bad at shooting free throws. He's just one of the most well known at being bad at shooting free throws. Oddly enough when he was on the Lakers & people used to Hack a Shaq, he actually shot a better percentage. So i'm not sure what others on here are saying when it comes to pressure. Because in some instances he did better when they were really key free throws. Free throws aside, it'll be interesting to see if his game will continue to decline. I mean his stats went down every year he was with the heat, but this last year they almost cut in half. Unless his game can get back to a steady effort instead of continueing to decline drasticly i don't see him being in the league much longer. Also i think Shaq will have a hard time mentally with playing only a few minutes & coming off of the bench, so we'll see.

Answer 15

his father threw the ball at his fat head every time he missed to this day he still holds that  fear

Answer 16

Its got to be 100% mental at this point.  I have to say though, I love watching the Shaq missed free throw montages they have every once in a while.

Answer 17

Even Shaq said "The reason I don't make my freethrows is because I believe nothing in life is free."

Answer 18

Well, that's like asking why Steve Nash does play good defense or why Ben Wallace can't hit a free throw. They just don't practice it that much since they are not naturally good at it. Sure a free throw is the most fundamental aspect of the game, but players tend to focus more on the other aspects since free throws are not as direly as important. His size may be the biggest factor in why he can't shoot a free throw (although I find it ironic and funny that Yao Ming has a 85% on free throws yet Yao is 5 inches taller than Shaq). Shaq can make free throws, but it's just not his strongest aspect and he has given up trying to improve it.

* I also like it when he makes not 1, but 2 in a row unless I'm rooting for the other team.

Answer 19

lol idk mabye hes to under the influence

Answer 20

Well he does 2 things wrong 1st how he holds the ball he holds it weird cause his hands are freakin huge

2nd If they show the angle over the backboard while he shoots watch how the ball has a sidespin instead of a backspin

Answer 21

He doesn't care, he doesn't practice it. He works more on his low post work. But he plays basketball for a living, and he's a person who really needs to work on his free throws. He probably is just not a great learner. He has a lazy work ethic. That's why Kobe hated him. I sympathize with him now. Anyone who makes their money playing basketball has no excuse for being bad at free throws.