Shaq says he and Webber would've been as dominant as he was with Penny: "I think what if I didn't do the Blue Chips"

The Orlando Magic could have paired Shaquille O'Neal and Chris Webber in 1993. The Florida team owned the No.1 overall pick of that year's NBA Draft and used it to select Webber. However, they traded Webber's draft rights to the Golden State Warriors for the No.3 pick — Penny Hardaway — plus first-round selections in 1996, 1998, and 2000.

Digging into the past, O'Neal said that C-Webb reminded him a lot about himself. The Diesel also admitted that he and Webber would have been a tandem had it not been for the movie Blue Chips.

"I watched him in college," said Shaq. "Watched him in high school, and reminded me of myself…minus three inches. He was a big guy who liked to handle, liked to make passes, and a big guy that liked the ball. And I think if I wouldn't have done the movie Blue Chips with Penny Hardaway"

Shaq almost turned down the role

Blue Chips was a 1994 sports drama film starring Nick Nolte, who played the role of a college head coach in the movie. To make it more realistic, the producers wanted to cast real basketball stars among Nolte's players on the team. Shaq was the first player they had in mind.

So, Director Billy Friedkin and Nolte met with Shaq in Orlando. However, after O'Neal read the script, there was a problem. Shaq's character, Neon Boudeaux, wasn't allowed to use the 'bit**' word and could not take money in the movie. O'Neal wanted to back out, but if he did, he wouldn't have met Penny. And the Magic likely ended up keeping C-Webb.

"I would say to myself, what if C-Webb and Shaq would've played together?" added O'Neal. "We probably could have done the same damage as Shaq and Penny did. I think about it all the time."

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Penny caught Shaq's attention and asked for him

After Friedkin changed the script, the four-time champ agreed to do the movie. Penny was cast, too, and that's when the two first met. Hardaway impressed Shaq so much during the filming that Diesel said he asked the Magic to draft him .

"So I see this skinny kid and this MF diming me up every time," O'Neal said . "I'm fu**** thinking he's an actor. 'Yeah, man, what's your name?' He said, 'Hey man, I'm Penny Hardaway.' 'Like you play?' He's like, 'I put my name in the draft'. 'You did?' So I got on the phone, and I said, 'Yo, you ever heard of the name Penny Hardaway?' He said yes. I said, 'I want this MF with me. Bro, when I tell you, me and this MF was Magic and Kareem."

But while Shaq and Penny were like Magic and Kareem, Shaq and C-Webb could have been another version of the Twin Towers. But they would have been unique with their elite passing and ball-handling skills. Would they have beaten the Rockets in the 1995 NBA Finals? Who knows. For sure, however, it would have been crazy fun.

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