It’s crazy to see that Penny Hardaway turns 43 years of age today. Hardaway has been famous for over twenty years. Whether if it’s being known as Butch McCray in the movie Blue Chips or dominating the NBA in the early 1990’s. In the early 1990’s Hardaway took the basketball world by storm as he teammed with Shaquille O’Neal and the Orlando Magic.
Hardaway was a part of a previous trend of big point guards in the early 90’s, and he proved that even standing 6’7 he was capable of running the show. Hardaway and Shaq became a force to be reckoned with on the court, but their dominate play was very brief.
The duo only played three seasons together and made it to the NBA Finals once in 1995. Many figured that their Orlando Magic team would make it a reoccurring theme by making it to the finals, but it never shaped up to be that way. A year after losing in the finals to the Houston Rockets, O’Neal bolted via free agency to the Los Angeles Lakers.
After the departure of O’Neal the injury bug bit Hardaway for several seasons and he never regained his All-Pro form. Hardaway continued his playing career until 2007, but Hardaway’s career may be one of the biggest What ifs?
What if Shaq would have remained in Orlando? What if Penny Hardaway would have remained healthy? These are two questions that millions of people have questioned for quite some time. Despite Hardaway having an injury-ridden career he still had an amazing impact on the game of basketball.
In Hardaway’s prime he went toe-to-toe with Michael Jordan and he was arguably a top 5 player in the NBA during his early years. Injuries may have robbed Hardaway’s career, but he left everlasting memories on the basketball court. To all of the 90’s babies that are standing in line for the Nike Air Foamposites, here is a video of Penny Hardaway handling business on the basketball court. Happy Birthday Penny I hope it is a great one.
