Having spent more than a week poring over play-by-plays in search of intentional fouls for today's column on whether the Hack-a-Shaq works, I learned more than I could fit into that piece. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about intentional fouls but didn't want to spend hours researching.
Most hacked
In the past three seasons, Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan account for more than half of all intentional fouls. With the help of ESPN Stats & Information and Basketball-Reference.com, I found five other players had been sent to the line intentionally more than 10 times in that span.
Those fouls translate into 348 free throws for Jordan -- more than a quarter of the 1,252 he has shot the past three seasons.
Best shooter hacked
In a 2013-14 game, the Sacramento Kings intentionally fouled Jeremy Evans three times after the Utah Jazz removed previous hackee Rudy Gobert (a 49.2 percent foul shooter that season) from the game. Evans made 68.0 percent of his free throws in 2013-14, and is at 68.4 percent for his NBA career.
This season's best shooter was Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson, who made 64.6 percent from the line and is a career 63.3 percent shooter (including 69.1 percent in 2013-14, his first season shooting free throws right-handed after previously favoring his left hand). Despite that solid shooting, the Boston Celtics sent Thompson to the line four times during the teams' first-round playoff series.
Worst shooter infrequently hacked
It's mystifying that Howard has been intentionally fouled nearly four times as often as Andre Drummond, a 39.7 percent career foul shooter. Even this season, when Howard made a respectable 52.8 percent of his free throws, he still got hacked more often than Drummond in far fewer games.
Another interesting candidate is Golden State Warriors center Andrew Bogut. Bogut's 47.4 percent foul shooting this season isn't as bad as Drummond's or Jordan's, but remember that he's playing on the league's best offense. Bogut is slightly below the break-even point where fouling him would yield fewer expected points than playing the Warriors straight-up. Yet Bogut was hacked just once all regular season. The New Orleans Pelicans tried it once during the first round of the playoffs, and I anticipate we'll see it again.
Most frequent hackers (coaches)
Seven coaches have intentionally fouled opponents at least 20 times in the past three seasons, according to my research:
Naturally, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is far and away No. 1 when it comes to using the Hack-a-Shaq -- more than twice as often as any other coach in the past three seasons. Mike Malone, fired as coach of the Kings during the season, is an interesting case. His 34 intentional fouls led all coaches in 2013-14, and Malone was unusually aggressive in using fouls to guarantee the last shot of the quarter. Former Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn shows up on this list almost exclusively because of one game where his team fouled Howard 10 times.
After Kevin McHale, the next most frequent fouler left in the playoffs is Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau (16). Intriguingly, Steve Kerr of the Warriors is one of six current coaches (not counting newcomer Billy Donovan) not to have intentionally fouled in the past three years. It will be interesting to see, if the Warriors reach the Western Conference finals -- where they would face either the Clippers or Rockets -- whether Kerr sticks to his belief that hacking takes his own team out of its rhythm.
Most frequent hackers (players)
I don't have a complete record of who committed each foul, but the data I do have shows San Antonio Spurs reserves Aron Baynes and Patty Mills having committed the most intentional fouls. More surprising names near the top of the list include Pau Gasol (who as a Laker repeatedly fouled Howard in 2013-14) and Reggie Jackson.
Future candidates
With the NBA anticipating a debate on intentional foul rules changes this summer, it might not matter. But if the rules stay the same, this year's draft will bring a few potential Hack-a-Shaq candidates to the NBA, including one who could be the next Dwight Howard in this regard.
Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein has the worst projected free throw percentage (50.4 percent) of anyone likely to be drafted. However, Cauley-Stein has shown rapid improvement at the line. He shot 37.2 percent as a freshman and 48.2 percent as a sophomore before improving to a healthy 61.7 percent in 2014-15 as a junior.
Before being dismissed from the team, Washington center Robert Upshaw was intentionally fouled at times last season. He made 43.4 percent of his free throws in 83 attempts in 2014-15, and 44.2 percent for his two-year college career.
Neither Cauley-Stein nor Upshaw is likely to be a major scoring threat in the NBA. That means foul shooting could be a bigger issue for likely top-two pick Jahlil Okafor. The Duke center made just 51.0 percent of his free throws as a freshman, putting him in danger of the Hack-a-Shaq. Howard, for one, shot 67.1 percent at the line at the same age as an NBA rookie. He didn't dip below 58 percent from the line until he dealt with back injuries in 2011-12 and 2012-13, when he became a regular target for intentional fouls. Okafor could face the same fate if he does not improve.