During the slowest part of the offseason, one thing is often a constant: engaging in fun discourse about players from different eras. For fans, hearing the icons of the sport rattle off a list of their top players is always a treat.
One player who might also probably take up a spot in many people’s all-time starting five is Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. Often mentioned among the most exciting players ever by his peers, the Orlando Magic legend was asked to return the favor in the form of choosing his all-time starting five.
“I’ll say myself, Shaq[uille O’Neal], MJ [Michael Jordan], Bron [LeBron James] and, Kobe [Bryant],” Hardaway told GQSports.
A complete list
Penny’s starting five consists of two Lakers legends; the first is Kobe, who took the Los Angeles Lakers back to the top post-showtime era with three consecutive titles. Bean is almost non-negotiable for many old-school players in terms of the all-time list. With his trademark “killer instinct” and pretty fallaways, the basketball icon’s legacy will stand the test of time. The second one is Shaq, the most physically dominant beast during his prime, with whom Penny had the privilege of sharing the court in their beginnings.
Ditto for LeBron. The timeless superstar is a four-time NBA champion with one forever-memorable moment. He hit a fadeaway with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder on February 7, 2023. It was his 38,388th career point and the all-time record for points, prompting some to crown him as the greatest player ever.
Last but not least, Michael Jordan. Doesn’t anything more need to be said? We didn’t think so, either.
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The Hardaway-O’Neal era
Most people remember the ‘90s as an era of the Chicago Bulls’ dominance—rightly so—but what normally gets overshadowed is how good the Magic were. The franchise, which was formed in 1989, had no history or identity. Their most notable moment was drafting O’Neal as the first pick in the 1992 draft. However, everything clicked when Hardaway joined the franchise a season later, giving birth to an unstoppable duo. The team was on the brink of making some noise in the NBA, and they did just that by clinching their first-ever postseason spot.
A couple of seasons later, the Magic had a fantastic postseason run all the way to the 1995 NBA Finals. Led by O’Neal and Hardaway, they went head-to-head in the conference semifinals against a Bulls squad that had just welcomed Michael Jordan back into the fold. In Game 6 of the series, the Magic completed a 14-0 run, leaving the Bulls scoreless over the final 3:24 and sealing their fate.
The Magic advanced to the Finals but were unfortunately swept by the Houston Rockets, led by Hakeem Olajuwon.
By the fall of 1995, Hardaway was entering his third NBA season, already boasting an All-NBA First Team selection and making a name for himself as a top-tier two-way guard. With O’Neal by his side, they were the reigning kings of the Eastern Conference, fresh off that Finals appearance. Expectations were sky-high for a repeat run, but fate had other plans.
During a preseason exhibition game against Miami, Shaq suffered a significant thumb injury, sidelining him for the first 22 games of the season. That left Penny to carry the load for a good chunk of the season — and for the rest of the future seasons, as the superstar center made a blockbuster move to the Lakers the following summer in search of a better alternative.
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