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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 09: Shaquille O’Neal attends the WBC heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder at T-Mobile Arena on October 09, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1345764316.jpg?width=600)
via Getty
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 09: Shaquille O’Neal attends the WBC heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder at T-Mobile Arena on October 09, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Three-point shooting has been the hottest commodity in the NBA for many years now. Stephen Curry’s revolutionary seasons from deep made it an alluring scoring method. It is a must-have skill at least at the Guard and wing positions. Even big men have started shooting the ball. These days Low-Post dominant Centers Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid are hoisting threes too. These Seven-footers shooting threes have also caused problems.
However, most seven-foot+ players still struggle to shoot from deep, Shaq being the most notorious example. One of the players has followed in Shaq’s footsteps.
Shaquille O’Neal had just one three-pointer in his career
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The antics around Shaq’s long-range shootings are well known. His fellow crewmates at Inside the NBA have roasted his poor three-point shooting ad infinitum. In one brilliant moment, WNBA phenom Candace Parker was in fits, watching his friend O’Neal struggle from the long-range.
In a segment from 22 December 2021, Shaq criticizes the overuse of three-point tries by the Los Angeles Lakers in a Regular Season affair against the Suns. Playing as a starter, Talen Horton-Tucker makes just one of his 13 attempts from the three-point line.
Shaq alludes to the poor shooting and claims, “I’m not gonna go one for thirteen, I guarantee you that. Wide open, nobody guarding him. I’m not gonna go one for thirteen.”
After Parker provokes him into proving her right, he misses his first seven and then he finally makes his eight, saying he was just “messing with y’all“.
But his three-point technique even during the make isn’t one that will please basketball coaches.
Such lores are plentiful in Shaq’s three-point struggles. He attempted just 22 threes across 1207 games. He made just one of them, which was a heave at the buzzer when he played for the Magic.
There is another Center who is yet to make a three-pointer in an NBA game. Shaq has even been critical of this French Center. Seven-foot, one-inch Rudy Gobert has attempted just 14 threes in 681 games and has made one three-pointer less than Diesel, which is none.
However, unlike Shaq, his jumper appears much more fluent, at least where it is easier to shoot. He doesn’t have Shaq’s hitch and he can pull the trigger at a decent speed for a Center of his size. The follow-through is pretty and the entire process from gathering the ball to rising up for a jumper appears much better than Shaq.
However, many fans weren’t impressed by his long-range mechanics.
Fans weigh in on his jumper
Posted by the France National basketball team’s official handle Équipe de France de Basket, this video displays Gobert draining multiple threes in practice.
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Commenting on it, one user took a shot at the Center, writing, “Ugly ass jumper 😂”.
Another fan had a harsher opinion, the user wrote, “Ugly ahh shot Gobert sucks imo”.
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A commenter didn’t like the Timberwolves Center’s shooting motion. They state, “Shooting mechanic is a nightmare. Slow and low.”
A fan expected Gobert to stick to his strengths, opining,”Dude should be working on a post an mid range game not 3’s🤦🏾♂️”.
One of the fans made an NBA 2k joke, quipping, “Bro makes threes with “Slightly late” release 😂”.
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Watch This Story: Shaquille O’Neal, Who Once Triggered Kevin Durant Only To Call Him A “Dog”, Publicly Swallows Bitter Truth With Pride
What do you think about Gobert’s jumper? Do share in the comments below.