Image via Complex Original
Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway turns 40 today; yup, hard to believe. Especially if you hopped on the Orlando Magic bandwagon as MJ aged. Penny had four Hall-of-Fame wothy seasons before his knee betrayed him and The Diesel dipped. Out of college, the 6-7 point guard took the NBA by storm with his silky-smooth game. He had all the endorsements, dope kicks and was being compared to the greats; cats like Magic, Jordan, Big O. The good thing out of all this is that his legacy lives on with the re-release of his Nike Air Pennys — and in video clips. So, in honor of his birthday we present, Penny Hardaway's Greatest Moments...
RELATED: The 15 Greatest Penny Hardaway Shoes
"School Daze"
WHEN: 1991-1993
COMPLEX SAYS: Penny's time at Memphis was full of ups and downs. He was declared academically ineligible for the 1990-91 season and was shot in in the foot during an armed robbery. However, he bounced back by posting a 3.4 GPA and making the Dean's list and stuntin' on the court by being named an All-American in his sophomore and junior seasons. Sidebar: This highlight clip against BYU is just nasty, there has to be some kind of violation against the honor code here.
"Selected Third Overall"
WHEN: 1993 NBA Draft
COMPLEX SAYS: So, Penny was selected third overall in the '93 Draft by the Golden State Warriors (he was later traded to Orlando). That's dope and all but we take issue with the fact that Shawn "I've Taken More Facials Than Your Favorite Porn Star" Bradley was selected right before him. Yeah, you can call that a Draft Day Fail.
"Made You Look"
WHEN: 1994-1995 Season
COMPLEX SAYS: Penny's game was insane. The Knicks, a team that prided itself on defense, looked like some D-League squad. SMH, if it weren't for those nagging injuries. #whatcouldvebeen
"Special Delivery"
WHEN: 1995-1996 Season
COMPLEX SAYS: Penny giving a facial to the Mailman sounds like the end to a bad gay porno (II). Truth is, the play on the court was just as nasty. You can tell Malone was surprised when he followed it up with that horrid airball. Yikes.
"Nike Air Pennys"
WHEN: 1995-1998
COMPLEX SAYS: One of Nike's best moves over the last few years was retroing these kicks. Nike gave Penny the MJ treatment with his own shoe and symbol and (at the time) rightfully so; Shaq and Penny were the new Magic and Kareem. Plus, the Foamposites are still making hypebeasts drool over flavors 13 years later. Who didn't have their whole team rocking the blue Foams in NBA Live?
"Posterizes Sam Mitchell"
WHEN: 1995 Eastern Conference Finals
COMPLEX SAYS: This is why Sam Mitchell got into coaching. In a classic series that went seven games, Penny and Shaq took out Pacers on their way to the first NBA Finals appearance in Orlando's franchise history. Yeah, this facial was pretty ugly. But Magic fans know, nearly all would be forgotten in the next round. Damn you, Nick "The Brick" Anderson!
"Lil Penny Ads"
WHEN: 1995-1998
COMPLEX SAYS: Remember these? Penny and Lil' Penny had some great times together. They tried to bag Tyra, schooled some fools on the courts and had a couple pool parties. Even Jay-Z had to give the lil dude a lyrical shout-out. Ads, ballers, rappers...wasn't everything better in the '90s? #justsayin'
"Gets Some Love From MJ"
WHEN: 1996 NBA All-Star Game
COMPLEX SAYS: You know you're good when the GOAT plays jokes on you. By the '96 season, Penny Hardaway's play was commonly getting compared to the greats like Magic and Michael Jordan. So, in his second All-Star game appearance, Penny got hazed by MJ but handled it with as much class as possible.
"A Facial For Luc Longley"
WHEN: 1996 Eastern Conference Finals
COMPLEX SAYS: The Bulls swept the Magic in this series before MJ captured his fourth ring. It's hard to imagine how scrubs like Luc Longley are three-time champions but we'll take some solace in this emasculation of the seven-foot underachiever.
"Goes For the Gold"
WHEN: 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta
COMPLEX SAYS: Along with Shaquille O'Neal, Penny joined vets like Charles Barkley, David Robinson, and John Stockton as the U.S. national team brought home the gold. The Dream Team III had an average margin of victory of over 30 points per game during the tournament and defeated Yugoslavia 95-69 in the gold medal final. Only Hardaway can make the act of picking pockets and dropping dimes afterward seem so ill.
"Throws It Down on MJ"
WHEN: 1996-1997 Season
COMPLEX SAYS: Penny was a great defender and savvy ballplayer. After he stole the rock, he knew an aging MJ was trailing and so he hit him with the pump-fake, tomahawk jam. His Airness got the best of everyone though, by winning his fifth ring that year.
"Sons Tim Hardaway"
WHEN: 1997-1998 Season
COMPLEX SAYS: God damn. Penny, how are you gonna do your brother from another mother like that? Tim Hardaway looks like he got assassinated out there. One of the greatest ankle-breakers of all time? Did you see the tape, son?!
"Shake and Bake on Kobe"
WHEN: 1997-1998 Season
COMPLEX SAYS: We'll never really know what could've been had Shaq stuck around in Orlando, but this small bit of payback was cool to see. In this clip, Penny abuses Shaq's new sidekick with the shake, the bake, then the silky-smooth floater. Kind of like when you peep your ex with her new dude and you give him that "Yup, how are my leftovers?" look. Actually, pause all of that and forget we ever said it.
"Nicki Minaj Lyrical Reference"
WHEN: 2011
COMPLEX SAYS: Penny Hardaway has been out of the league since 2007 and his last season as a starter came in 2002-03. Young'ns today still have an idea of how dope he was back in his prime, though. One of the latest examples coming in this Nicki Minaj lyrical reference on her "Tragedy" diss track directed at Lil Kim.
