The Hack-A-Shaq  rule was put into the NBA because teams were intentionally fouling Shaq because he was such an atrocious foul shooter late in games when Shaq’s opponents were behind.

Even if Shaq did not have the ball and was 50 feet away from the ball teams would foul him because he was such a poor foul shooter so they would have a chance for the rebound of the missed foul shot.

Thus the Hack-A-Shaq rule was put in.

That original Hack-A-Shaq rule stated that in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter or any overtime period game any deliberate foul off the ball (player without the ball) was penalized with the offended team by getting one foul shot by the player fouled and then possession  of the ball out-of-bounds for a throw in.

Now the NBA (Not Basketball Anymore league) has gone way too far to protect a few of the poorest foul shooters currently in  the league by installing the “Hack-A-Shaq Rule” for the last 2 minutes all four quarters and all overtime period

The “Hack-A-Shaq” strategy was being used at the end of the first 3 quarters if the player on the team being fouled was not shooting the bonus shots yet in the lst, 2nd or 3rd quarters.

This was one of the biggest reasons why the rule has been changed.

A new deliberate personal foul rule will also be in effect during any throw in ANYTIME DURING THE GAME when a personal foul occurs before the ball is released for the throw in committed by either the offense or defense..

It will be considered and called just like the new Hack-A-Shaq rule because any  foul of this nature would be on a player without the ball because the ball is at the disposal of the thrower in who has the ball in his possession out-of-bounds. REMEMBER THIS IS ANYTIME DURING THE GAME.

This is ridiculous to protect a few poor foul shooters, usually big players.

Foul shooting is part of the game and it usually many times is the difference between winning or losing.

Coaches had the option of leaving the poor foul shooter in the game in the last few minutes when ahead or taking them out of the game so that they wouldn’t be fouled at the end of the 4th periods last few minutes or the same for an overtime.

The Hack-A-Shaq rule eliminated that in the last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter or an overtime and now penalizes it in the last 2 minutes of all 4 quarters and any overtime period.

There is no excuse for any sized player to not be able to shoot at least 60% from the line.

Poor foul shooters who shoot below 50%  need to be coached and developed into at a minimum poor 60% to 64% foul shooters.

There are shooting coaches out there that and should or could be hired if a team’s coaching staff cannot get the Bigs up to 60-64%.

When I give individual shooting lessons to players from age 10 to 18 when they left after several one hour foul shooting lessons most were corrected so that they could shoot at a minimum 65%.

Not all big players were or are poor foul shooters. Lew Alcinder/Kareem Abdul Jabbar was an excellent 7 foot foul shooter who shot over 70% for his career.

Sure bigs like former NBAers Shaq, Wilt the Stilt, etc. and current big DeAndre Jordan and Andre Drummond were/are poor foul shooters.

Jordan shot a miserable 43% this past regular season and Andre Drummond was at a horrible 35.5%.

Based on 1.5 foul shots made per game only 116 out of the 450 rostered players qualified for foul shooting standings. Jordan’s and Drummond’s foul shooting percentages were 115 and 116 at the very bottom..

However, if given the correct techniques of being squared, with the basket with the feet, holding the ball correctly, aiming for the correct target, using more legs, releasing the ball when the players legs are straight and following thru correctly can really improve Big players foul shooting.

If this was done by the NBA with poor foul shooters then there would be no need for this foolish rule that rewards a player with a poor basic basketball skill, by giving him a foul shot and possession of the ball for his team at the end of 2 minutes of each quarter and any overtime..

You would think that players making millions of dollars per year would have enough pride in their foul shooting to quietly hire a shooting coach on their own to improve their foul shooting skill so that they would not have to be fouled intentionally to make up for their lack of pride and ability to shoot at least 60% from the line.

Maybe the teams should have a team rule that if you can’t shoot at least 60% from the foul line then they would be fined $1000 for every foul shot missed that keeps them below 60%.

Hit them right where it hurts the player the most, right in the pocketbook might motivate them to really try to improve their foul shooting fundamentals so that they could shoot at least a below average 60%.

Shame on the NBA for putting in this rule that rewards a poorly skilled player.

Here is MY OWN SHOOTING % CHART for foul shooting for NBA players who are getting paid millions of dollars to play the game. Foul shot. 10 seconds to shoot, no one guarding you, a player should be able to shoot at least 60% and that is poor by the chart below.

95%-100% Superior

80%-89%  Excellent

75%-79%  Above average

70%-74% Average

65%-69% Below Average

60%-64% Poor

55%-59% Bad

50%-54% Terrible

Below 50% Unacceptable

Just my opinion and experience based on my over 70 years as a high school and college basketball player, high school basketball coach and a high school and college basketball official.