Anfernee Hardaway - Penny Saved, Penny Earned

Penny was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1993 NBA Draft (third pick overall), but was traded along with three future first-round picks to the Orlando Magic for the rights to first overall pick Chris Webber. He started out the season at the shooting guard position while he learned the point guard position from veteran Scott Skiles. By mid-season he took over point guard duties from Skiles. He immediately made an impact on the league, winning the MVP award at the inaugural Schick Rookie Game. Hardaway helped the Magic to their first playoff berth and first fifty-win season. He averaged 16 points, 6.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds per game while his 190 steals ranked 6th in the league. He recorded his first career triple double on April 15 when he registered 14 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds against the Boston Celtics. For his efforts he was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team and was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year to the aforementioned Webber.

The 1994-95 NBA season saw Penny take his game to another level. The Magic won a franchise record 57 games while Penny averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. In fact he was the only player to average at least twenty points and five assists and shoot fifty percent on field goals during the regular season. He was named a starter in his first NBA All-Star game and was named All-NBA First Team. Hardaway averaged 24.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 8 assists, while shooting 50% from the field in the NBA Finals against the Rockets.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• basketball

[buramabull]

Penny was the man , was a big Orlando fan with him and Shaq. Penny had mad hops and one the cleanest drives. His jump shot wasnt bad either!! What a legend, if it wasn't for injuries he would be compared to like of Jordan Bird etc.

[magpantay432]

i truly believe if penny hadnt had those bad knee injuries.he would b a hall of famer..6'7 210 piont guard who could do it all..

[WASIV]

Penny was good, not a great player before the injury. people are mislead into thinking he was MJ or something. it was all marketing hype created by nike. their have been a LOT of players as good or better than Penny during the last 20 years

[Kirch21x]

shaq has played with so many great players..... penny, kobe, lebron, dwade.... many many more

[coasteys]

Hill and Hardaway were good but if Penny stayed healthy we would be comparing with MJ rather than Kobe

[calcioboy9]

1:54 AssBound! assist n rebound together, Penny was fabulous yooo!

[MyYTwatcher]

Penny+Shaq+Horace were great trio. I liked them so much.

Too sad that Penny adn Grant Hill suffered too many injuries. Both could have been megastars. Now they are "only" stars.

[Hip2daHop123]

In the 90's Mj n Anfeerne hardaway is all i use to watch

[jattgill]

penny could have had a stellar career had he been healthy and remained in orlando with shaq. that wud have been the dynasty rather than the kobe/shaq one in LA.

we miss u penny! my fave magic player and the reason why i love the orlando magic!

[rickiu]

Yes, he s such a ALL-round player that i ve never seen, there s no one who can reach Penny s level even in nowadays NBA.

Look at his passing , move & scoring

[rickiu]

Penny must be a hall of fame player if he did not suffer from injury!