Penny Hardaway

I was born in 94, didn’t watch a minute of him while he was in the league and he’s still my favorite player ever. I always dreamed of being able to play like him over anyone else. Wonder where he could’ve ended up on the all time lists if he stayed healthy

 I remember an awesome game I watched watched when he was on the Magic at the peak of his powers and he played against Golden State, who had Latrell Sprewell also at his peak. Warriors in white, Magic in black, game came down to a possession and it was one on one.. I think Latrell got a stop and it went to OT, but Penny had big numbers and the Magic won.. 

I’m going to google this now and come back if I find it.. 

Found it!- 16 Dec 1994 – Magic 131 Warriors 128
Penny had 38pts, 13ast, 6 rebs
Spree had 40pts, 6reb, 5ast

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199412160GSW.html

That’s a classic so if you wanna see how good these guys were, try find that to watch. Gives you an idea.

 i started watching ball in 1992. i was introduced to the top of the game in bird, magic, jordan, barkley olajuwon etc.. but the first jersey i ever owned was penny hardways magic jersey when he entered the league. The first basketball card i ever bought was penny hardaways rookie card which i still own in a case. That dude, along with kidd, hill, van exel, larry johnson etc…. they were an amazing new breed of nba player to watch. 

 Everyone liked MJ but I always liked Penny. He was mad cool, smooth, and had fun playing. Sucks that injuries took the game away

The only chink in his armor was a slightly inconsistent 3-ball. And even then he was not a liability. On defense, he guarded MJ 1-on-1 as well as anybody during his peak years (even though hand checking was legal at this time).

He was insanely athletic, possessed the size of a SF, and had an unbelievable rapport with Shaq & his other role players on the court. He just had moves for days & was the epitome of a player that makes his teammates better.

Absolutely no doubt in my mind…. if he stayed healthy & Shaq remained in Orlando they would have been a dynasty. There’s a great ESPN 30 for 30 called This Magic Moment regarding the Shaq & Penny documentary. Check it out sometime if you haven’t.

He made first team all-nba twice (95-96) playing second fiddle to shaq. When shaq left the magic it was supposed to be his chance to show what he could do in a leading role. Instead, it just ended up being the beginning of the end for him.

Watching him play later in his career was just sad. The knee injuries basically robbed him of all of his explosiveness. But I still give him credit for being able to hang around as long as he did, even if it was in a severely diminished state. 

 He was a hugely popular player and an elite level guy at his peak. Rather like Grant Hill his potential peak years were cut short by injury. He has always seemed a class act and it’s good that he is having a crack at coaching with Memphis Tigers. Given his pedigree I wonder if an NBA team might look at him in due course but he may be reluctant to move away from Memphis and would have no need to move for any financial reason as he seems to have used his earnings wisely.

my nickname playing ball back in the day was little penny.