The issue of guns in the United States has been a longstanding and complex debate, and it has even found its way into the professional basketball world. In the early to mid-2000s, there were several high-profile incidents involving NBA players and firearms.

That glaring hole in his game made O'Neal a target for an entire defensive strategy: the world-famous "Hack-a-Shaq." Coaches started instructing their players to intentionally foul him, forcing him to earn points from the line rather than letting him bulldoze his way to easy baskets.