“You’re acting like I don’t hit the mother*****rs at all… Imagine me being me and shooting like Steph Curry” - Shaquille O'Neal on the criticism towards his free throws
Shaquille O'Neal was one of the NBA's most dominant players during his peak, but one flaw in his game was his free-throw shooting. Shaq hilariously addressed the criticism recently.
Despite his dominance with the with the Orlando Magic and the LA Lakers, Shaq was one of the league's worst free-throw shooters.
On "The Pivot Podcast," Shaq spoke about the criticism of his free-throw shooting.
"First of all, my average is 50%," said O'Neal, who shot 52.7% in the regular season and 50.4% in the playoffs. "That's make one, miss one. You're right, it's terrible, but you're acting like I don't hit the motherf*****s at all. When I need to hit them, I'mma hit them."
He also said his terrible free-throw shooting kept him humble.
"I think it was a way to keep me humble," O'Neal said. "Imagine me being me and shooting like Steph Curry. I wouldn't even be here right now. I'd be so arrogant. Think about that. I think it just kept me humble, because it was something I knew I wasn't really good at, I had to work on. And it made me vulnerable.
"But I think about all the time, if I was me the way I played and shot that motherf****r like Curry 90%. You already can't tell me nothing, but just imagine me being that."
Steph Curry, perhaps the NBA's best shooter ever, is the career 3-point king (3,117) and holds the lead for the best free-throw percentage (90.82%) in history. So, Shaq being able to shoot at that level while also being one of the league's most dominant centers would have put him in a different class.
Still, O'Neal found a way to maximize his success without being an elite shooter.
Shaquille O'Neal was on the opposite end of the shooting spectrum of Steph Curry
While Steph Curry is regarded as the best shooter of all time, Shaquille O'Neal was one of the worst (from distance). Both led the league in scoring twice.
While Curry is the all-time leader in 3-pointers, Shaq's 3-point statistics are at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Shaquille O'Neal only made 1 three-point shot during his entire NBA career
Shaq made one 3-pointer in his career (1-for-22, 4.55%). That one three-pointer in his illustrious career is almost as ridiculous as Curry's numbers (3,117 of 7,290, 42.8%). Curry is 12th all-time in career 3-point percentage. (His Golden State Warriors coach, Steve Kerr, has the best mark, at 45.4%.)
At least O'Neal was better at free throws than 3-pointers because he made at least two (5,935 of 11,252) and shot better than less than one percent from the line. His lone 3-pointer came in a 31-point effort during a 121-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Feb. 16, 1996.