The Purple & Gold have a frustrating woe regarding their star player. But one former Laker believes this isn’t a new issue. He’s seen another Titanic star endure the same trouble on the court. This seven-time champion was reminded of when Shaquille O’Neal was fighting to make free throws himself. And according to Shaq’s teammate, the downside of being the big man on the court is the equally huge target on their back.

Big Shot Rob broke down this problem that historically plagued the Los Angeles Lakers franchise across multiple generations. Apparently, it’s inescapable.

Robert Horry sees Shaq-sized problem manifest again

The Lakers are trying to combat a major issue surrounding LeBron James. As he’s far from declining, the star player has not had enough chances to make it to the free-throw line. It’s turning into a legitimate debate about whether referees are overlooking James getting hacked.

Robert Horry stated that he’s seen this situation before. “He reminds me of Shaq,” Horry said ahead of the matchup against the Houston Rockets. “In the sense that when the refs look at him like ‘You’re so big, you’re so strong, those slaps don’t affect you.’ But actually they do.”

Shaquille O’Neal had a known weakness at making free-throws. He even missed 11 free-throws in a row once. But there was also the visible problem of referees not calling fouls done to him. Inconsistent officiating has always outraged fans and players alike. Even Shaq was not above blasting  the uncalled fouls.

In 2001, the media analyzed prime Big Diesel and concluded that his size, strength, and agility made it difficult to officiate a game fairly. Shaq would contend that if he really wanted to foul, you’d know.

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Similarly, King James also called out referees after the last game against Miami. As per Horry, that’s the price of being the dominant player in the entire league. Horry was not above saying that referees call it when it’s Luka Doncic and Giannis Antetokounmpo getting fouled.

“Everybody else in the league gets that call,” the 7-time NBA champion said. “All the so-called greats get those calls. And it seemed to be that they’re not giving it to LeBron.”

He made it to the free throw line about four times when he and his team contend he was fouled out a lot more than that. Of course, the conflict of uncalled fouls has existed for about as long as officiating has.

Shaquille O’Neal also stirred trouble with refs

Players and referees have been mortal enemies for as long as sports leagues existed.

Professional athletes and their fans are not above getting in officiants’ faces on any decision. Shaquille O’Neal was just scarier. The 7’1″ giant would get into altercations with officials or slam them after the games.

Even a decade after retiring, he’s still bitter about unfair treatment. It’s 2023 and he still holds on to a grudge with the entirety of Utah for all the fouls on him that were overlooked.

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As Horry theorized, big men are bigger targets. Just like Shaq, LeBron’s biggest opponents are going to be the officials.