A Penny For Your Thoughts
Never underestimate the value of a Penny, they hold more value than you think.
For my third installment for Black History Month, I wanted to write about my personal favorite PG of all time Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway.
Penny, who attended the University of Memphis, was a 6'7" PG who could also play the SG and SF position. Besides Magic of course, Taller guards were a rarity in the 90s NBA. But Penny was also extremely versatile and for a guard of his size, it gave him a clear advantage. Anfernee, who played two years at Memphis (91'-93') before declaring for the 93' NBA Draft averaged a combined 20.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG & 5.9 APG on 45/34/71 shooting splits.
While at Memphis, Penny was a two time All-American and after his Sophomore year he was a finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year and the John R. Wooden Award.
Penny was always destined for greatness, and when he starred in the 94' basketball movie “Blue Chips” in which he played “Butch McRae”. He met then Orlando Magic star Shaquille O’Neal, who was so impressed with Penny that when Penny was drafted third overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 93' NBA Draft, Shaq convinced the Magic to trade three first round picks and the 1st overall pick Chris Webber. for the Memphis PG prodigy.
In his Rookie season, Penny averaged 16.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG & 6.6 APG on 46/26/74 shooting splits. He spent most of this season at SG while he learned the PG position from veteran guard Scott Skiles. After taking over at the “one”, Penny led the Magic to the playoffs, was named to the NBA’s All-Rookie first team, and was runner up to the ROY award won by Chris Webber.
Following up his incredible rookie season, Penny Hardaway would notch his first of four All-Star appearances, a All-NBA first team selection, and a one time NBA Finals appearance. In his sophomore season, Penny averaged 20.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG & 7.2 APG on 51/34/76 shooting splits. Alongside Shaq, the young duo would advance all the way to the 95' Finals where they would be swept by Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets. Despite being swept in four games, Penny averaged 25.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG & 8.0 APG in the series, while shooting 50% from the field.
After only two seasons in the NBA, Penny Hardaway was already a household name. And with Michael Jordan being the “end all be all” in the NBA. Companies were always looking for the next “superstar”. With Penny on the scene it did not take long before he signed his name on the dotted line. Nike made sure to jump on Penny when they had the chance, but what they didn’t know was how much value Penny would bring.
Penny Hardaway was LeBron before LeBron. He drew Magic Johnson comparisons in college. So when April 9th, 1996 came it was no surprise that Penny was NO.1 in marketing via USA Today. He was more popular than Jordan himself among teens and this was all because of one “Lil” sidekick.
When Nike signed Penny, they realized how shy he was and immediately came to the conclusion that a “sidekick” would be the perfect way to market him. What you see above you is one of many ‘Lil Penny” Nike commercials that was insanely popular during it’s time. Voiced by the one and only “Chris Rock” , Lil Penny was known for being the complete opposite of the humble and often Shy Hardaway. Instead, he was a trash talking, confident and often cocky puppet that was either throwing parties at Penny’s house, or planning dates with “Tyra Banks”.
Penny’s first signature shoe, the “Air Penny”.
Penny was the first PG to have his own signature shoe at Nike. This wasn’t done again for the next two decades until Kyrie Irving in 2014. Penny’s first shoe and apparel deal with Nike was the largest rookie contract ever in Nike basketball history at the time. This contract was not surpassed until 10 years later when LeBron James was drafted in the NBA in 2003.
Penny’s third season came with another All-Star bid, All-NBA first team selection, and a playoff appearance. He averaged a career high 21.7 PPG to go along with 4.3 RPG & 7.1 APG on 51/31/76 shooting splits. Penny would end the season third in MVP voting, and was again the only player in the NBA who averaged at least 20 PPG & 5 APG while shooting 50% from the field during the regular season.
Unfortunately, the off-season of 96' was the “Summer of Shaq” as he would leave the Magic and sign with the Lakers. Not only did this break up the beautiful duo in Penny & Shaq, but it also formed a black cloud over Penny and the Magic as a whole.
Heading into the 96'-97' season, Penny would have to shoulder the load of being the “loan star” and I would be lying if I said it didn’t take a toll on him. Penny dealt with injuries all year, but still notched his third straight All-Star appearance. With season averages of 20.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG & 5.6 APG, Penny was more than ready for the playoffs. Orlando would quickly go down 0–2 in the first round to the Miami Heat before Penny literally put the squad on his back. Hardaway had back-to-back 40+point games against the heat, forcing a game 5 in which Orlando fell short.
The black cloud I mentioned earlier would follow Penny and the magic into the 97'-98' season. After only 50 games, Penny would suffer a devastating left knee injury that would require microfracture surgery. He still landed his 4th straight All-Star nod which would also be his last. Playing in the 98' All Star game led to plenty of people questioning when he should have came back. Regardless, Hardaway played all 50 games of the 99' lockout season and was afterwards traded to the Suns.
By this time Penny was only 28, and although he was paired with Jason Kidd in Phoenix to form “BackCourt 2000”, he unfortunately had more knee surgeries that would take away from his uber, athletic ability. From 99'-04' he was in and out of the starting lineup for Phoenix, dealing with various injuries along the way. By 2005, Penny was only averaging 7.3 PPG.
Penny was and is an absolute God when it comes to basketball and pop culture. So damn popular that Jordan once wore his shoes against him in a game. Now the coach of his alma mater, the University of Memphis. Penny is looking to carve out another legacy in his already legendary basketball career.
I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again, injuries absolutely suck, but It’s apart of the game. And although they can sometime shorten one’s career, you can not forget the impact they had on the game. Besides, if it wasn’t for Penny, you wouldn’t have them “Foams” on your feet now would you?
- 4× NBA All-Star (1995–1998)
- 2× All-NBA First Team (1995, 1996)
- All-NBA Third Team (1997)
- NBA All-Rookie First Team (1994)
- Consensus first-team All-American (1993)
- 2× Great Midwest Player of the Year (1992, 1993)
- #25 jersey retired by Memphis Tigers
- First-team Parade All-American (1990)
