Shaquille O’Neal Reveals Why He Has to ‘Curse So Many of These Little Kids Out’

Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway is a name that somehow gets lost among the many legends Shaquille O'Neal has played alongside in the NBA. Perhaps it's easy to overlook him when compared with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade.

Yet, the reality is that Hardaway's name belongs in the same category, according to O'Neal. How good was Hardaway, really?

If you ask Shaq, he'd tell you that Hardaway was "Kobe before Kobe."

"Penny, because of you, I have to curse so many of these little kids out. No seriously, because the reason why is they ask me all the time, they say, 'Who's better? Penny or Kobe?' And I always say Penny was Kobe before Kobe," O'Neal said on "The Big Podcast."

He added: "The kids before the social media era, they act like they don't understand what I'm telling them. Then I have to tell them, 'Do you have Google? You little stupid. Look and see who Penny was.'"

Hardaway's peak run came in the mid-1990s with O'Neal and the Orlando Magic. He averaged more than 20 points for three consecutive seasons, one of those being the 1994–95 season, when the Magic knocked off Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the playoffs.

But multiple knee and ankle injuries robbed Penny of his athleticism early in his NBA career, and he never reached his true potential. He finished his career as a four-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA first-team selection.

For proof of Hardaway's greatness, look no further than one of the greatest centers in NBA history. O'Neal clearly remembers who Hardaway was as a player, and he'll curse out anyone who tries to tell him different.

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