Spurs Use Hack-a-Mitch Strategy in NBA Finals to Limit Knicks Offense
The Spurs opted to send Knicks center Mitchell Robinson to the free throw line repeatedly during Game 2 of the 2026 NBA Finals on Friday night. In the opening quarter of the game, San Antonio fouled Robinson three times with the express purpose of sending him to the line. That move stunted New York's offense.
Robinson entered Game 2 shooting 29.5% from the free-throw line during the playoffs. He was a woeful 13-for-44 from the charity stripe. During the opening quarter, he went 3-for-6, so the Spurs' strategy had mixed results. In Game 1, he only went to the line once in 13 minutes. Not surprisingly, he missed. He finished the game with two points and six rebounds.
The 28-year-old has never been a good free throw shooter. He hit just 40.8% of his shots from the line during the regular season. During his eight-season NBA career, he has only topped 50% for a season three times, and is a career 50.8% shooter from the stripe. He has been even worse in the postseason.
Entering Friday night's contest, Robinson had played in 49 career playoff games and was shooting 36.2% from the free-throw line. That's the lowest mark in NBA history.
Don't expect the Spurs to stop employing the "Hack-a-Mitch" strategy until he punishes them for it by making his free throws more consistently.
Robinson is far from the only big man who has been sent to the line because of his free throw struggles.
The history of ‘Hack-a-Shaq' and other players targeted
Shaquille O'Neal is arguably the most famous example of a player being consistently sent to the free throw line by opposing teams to stunt his team's offense. During his prime, opponents employed the "Hack-a-Shaq" technique consistently.
O'Neal was a career 52.7% free-throw shooter, but was as low as 48.4% with the Lakers during the 1996-97 season and hit a career-worst 42.2% while with the Heat during the 2006-07 campaign.
Dwight Howard, DeAndre Jordan, Ben Simmons and Ben Wallace were all big men who struggled from the line as well. Here's a look at some of the players most targeted with the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy and their career marks from the line:
| Player | Career free-throw shooting percentage |
|---|---|
| Mitchell Robinson | 50.8% |
| Shaquille O'Neal | 52.7% |
| Dennis Rodman | 58.4% |
| DeAndre Jordan | 47.5% |
| Ben Simmons | 59.2% |
| Andre Dummond | 48.9% |
| Wilt Chamberlain | 51.1% |
Wilt Chamberlain was a 51.1% free throw shooter for his career. Given his dominance on the court, teams felt it was a far better strategy to foul him and take their chances with the Hall of Famer on the free throw line. At times, Chamberlain even ran away from defenders in an effort to avoid getting fouled. The NBA had to changed the rules to prevent it from happening during the final two minutes and overtime.
Don Nelson-the famed coach of the Bucks, Knicks, Warriors and Mavericks-is said to have innovated the strategy in the late 1990s in his time with Dallas. The thought was fairly simple: If his team played an especially bad free-throw shooter, intentionally fouling and sending said player to the line could lower the opponent's points per possession compared to a standard defensive strategy.
He first used the strategy against Rodman, who was a career 58.4% free-throw shooter and shot as low as 43.6% in the late ‘90s in his sole season with the Lakers. He then used the strategy against O'Neal and "Hack-a-Shaq" was officially born.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Spurs Use Hack-a-Mitch Strategy in NBA Finals to Limit Knicks Offense.
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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 10:04 PM.