Penny Hardaway recalls debuting the Nike Foamposite: "Penny cannot wear those shoes again on the road"

Penny Hardaway debuted a futuristic-looking shoe on April 4, 1997, during a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The shoe dubbed the Nike Foamposite One, was crafted by heating a liquid 'foam' at 130-175 degrees Fahrenheit inside a special mold. With a futuristic look and an upper material never seen before, it became one of the Swoosh Brand's most unforgettable basketball sneakers.

But after Penny dropped 23 points in his first game wearing the Foamposite, the NBA noticed and almost banned it. So Hardaway had to be creative to wear them again that season.

"They made me put the tape in between because it wasn't really a road shoe," recalled Penny on his appearance at The Big Podcast. "It was a home shoe, and I wore them on the road. David Stern, rest in peace, called our equipment manager or whoever from the NBA called our equipment manager and said 'Penny cannot wear those shoes again on the road'.

Sharpie Foam

Because the Orlando Magic used to wear the black and stripes road jersey, NBA rule dictates that Magic players had to wear black or at least predominantly black shoes when playing away from home.

Since the original Foamposite shoe was royal blue, Hardaway had to do something if he wanted to wear them again in Orlando's road games. That's when they became very creative with the Sharpie.

"So we put electrical tape, that's when they called it the Sharpie foam," added Penny. "We put the tape in between the ridges and I wore them. And the tape was coming off so we started filling them in with the Sharpie just to make it a black sneaker so they won't fine me."

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One of Nike's most iconic sneaker

The ingenuity worked. Although the Magic would end up losing to the Miami Heat in five games in the 1997 NBA Playoffs, Anfernee successfully introduced it in the big show, setting the stage for what would become one of Nike's most iconic shoes.

Later that year, the Nike Foamposite One was released at a staggering price of $180. At first, many frowned at its ridiculous price, especially since it cost more than the popular Air Jordans. But with the shoe's custom mold costing $750,000 each, Nike had a reason to debut it at that price.

The Foamposite didn't sell well at first because of the money needed to purchase it. But sneakerheads bought enough of them to keep them in the line. Later, a 'Sharpie' version was released as part of a two-shoe collection called the 'Penny Pack' to commemorate Hardaway's ingenuity. More than two decades later, the Foamposite remains a popular model among shoe enthusiasts. The Foamposite One 'Royal' colorway will be relaunched this coming September.

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