All basketball fans can agree with me when I say that Penny Hardaway's seasons with the Orlando Magic were his best. Penny is another one of those guys who saw his promising career derailed by injuries. It almost makes you think, what would have happened if he would've stayed healthy?
Originally drafted by Golden State back in '93, he was traded for eventual Rookie of the Year Chris Webber. With Shaq already in place, Penny's impact could be seen immediately as the young franchise reached its first playoff in history.
His rookie year was amazing as his stat line of 16, 7, and 5, garnered him Magic Johnson comparisons. Not to be a victim of the sophomore slump, Hardaway came back the next year to average 21, 7, and 4. The tandem of Hardaway and O'neal led the Magic to the finals that year, only to be swept by the Houston Rockets. Not shaken by the task, Penny averaged 24, 5, and 8 during the finals.
Not satisfied with the previous years accomplishments, the franchise won a record 60 games in Penny's third season. The Magic were then ousted by a Chicago Bulls team that sent Hardaway home with a playoff average of 23 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists.
His tenure in Orlando would allow him to see the playoffs again without the LA-bound O'neal. He endured his first of five left knee surgeries as well, before he started bouncing around the league. His years a member of the Phoenix Suns were productive, but failed to be as a rewarding as his Magic days. Hardaway and former Suns guard Stephon Marbury didnt get along but made considerable noise against the Spurs in the '03 playoffs.
Once traded to the Knicks along with Marbury, he sniffed the playoffs once again, but that was the last time that he would. Eventually runs with the Magic and Heat wouldnt be the swan song that many of his die-hard fans expected.
He reminded people that a guy 6'7 could play the point guard position and be lethal as a triple-threat. Always drawing comparisons to Magic Johnson, Hardaway is a legend in his own right. The kids today dont quite grasp the concept of players of Hardaway who influenced a lot of the superstars they see today. True basketball fans have fond memories of Hardaway being a beast back in the day.
And who could forget about the marketing machine that Hardaway was at his peak? His shoes were, and still are some of the biggest sellers in Nike history.
Penny could never outshine me
i loved penny's kicks. i was stoked when nike put them out along with the j-kidd's.
haha, i picked up both!
and damn, i miss lil penny. he even made a cameo in blackstreet music videos.
good write-up. we should do one of these nostalgic write ups on players that "could have been" on the regular.
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