Silver on Hack-A-Shack Strategy: Fans Hate It

NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he would use his “bully pulpit” to try to force through reform to eliminate the intentional fouling of poor free throw shooters, also known as the Hack-a-Shaq strategy. Silver was speaking in his annual address before Game 1 of the NBA Finals. In the same room at Oracle Arena a year ago, Silver said he was “on the fence” about the issue.

But there’s a two-and-a-half times increase in such fouls this season over last. Silver said the NBA’s research showed a 16-fold increase in such fouls over the past five years. “Not only is that something that is bad for our network partners, but for all of the fan research we have shows that the fans hate it,” Silver said. “There may be a compromise in there where we can cut it down significantly.”

Source: Brian Windhorst of ESPN