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Game Theory and Hack-A-Shaq

 

In the sport of basketball when a team fouls the opposing team’s player, the opposing team is given the opportunity to shoot 2 free throws, and each basket made is worth a point. From this information, one would assume you don’t want to be fouling a player because your payoff would be negative, but in some cases, it’s actually a good idea, and the payoff in the long run (the length of the game) could be positive. The article above describes one of the first instances of what would, later on, be known as Hack-a-Shaq, a defensive tactic used by NBA teams, which consists of fouling a poor free throw shooter (named after Shaquille O’Neal, a historically bad free throw shooter), therefore potentially preventing the opposing team from scoring, slowing down the pace of the game, and regaining possession.

Intentional fouling has always been present and allowed in the NBA, particularly in the last two minutes of the game, but Coach Don Nelson of the Orlando Magic created a strategy that enabled him to lower his opponents’ points per possession without really playing much defense. This tactic was used by teams for years but as the article states things got out of hand and: “There were 420 deliberate fouls away from the ball in the regular season, up from 179 in the 2014-15 season and 115 the season before that. ” The league eventually put a limit on the number of off the ball fouls, and now the team that was fouled shoots free throws and retains possession. It’s kind of funny how a breach of a rule was supposed to create a negative payoff, but ended up being at times an effective strategy for some teams.

 

Also here’s a funny video of Deandre Jordan missing 22 free throws after getting Hack-a-Shaq’d:

 

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