[DC 86]

It's like Shaq not making free throws. Too much of a star and not that much of a teammate.

Was Bill Russell also a bad teammate? he shot 56% FT for his career (Shaq finished at 53%).

It's hard to find centers who are excellent free throw shooters, for a variety of reasons. Shaq did work with a number of free throw coaches (although he refused Rick Barry's offer to learn to shoot underhand) and reportedly practiced taking free throws daily both in-season and in the offseason. He also had an improperly healed wrist injury that limited his dexterity, so who knows. He always said that he put too much put too much pressure on himself at the line, which triggered his ADHD. In any case I don't think it's fair to call him (and by extension, Bill Russell) a poor teammate because he was poor at a specific skill which was completely different from the skills that made him a great player.

[DC 86]

It's like Shaq not making free throws. Too much of a star and not that much of a teammate.

Was Bill Russell also a bad teammate? he shot 56% FT for his career (Shaq finished at 53%).

It's hard to find centers who are excellent free throw shooters, for a variety of reasons. Shaq did work with a number of free throw coaches (although he refused Rick Barry's offer to learn to shoot underhand) and reportedly practiced taking free throws daily both in-season and in the offseason. He also had an improperly healed wrist injury that limited his dexterity, so who knows. He always said that he put too much put too much pressure on himself at the line, which triggered his ADHD. In any case I don't think it's fair to call him (and by extension, Bill Russell) a poor teammate because he was poor at a specific skill which was completely different from the skills that made him a great player.