Shaquille O’Neal had a terrific NBA career, becoming one of the most dominant players in history, achieving incredible things with the Los Angeles Lakers, and becoming a 3x NBA champion with the Californian team.
However, Shaq had the chance to do the same on his first team in the NBA, but things didn’t go well for them, even though they made it to the 1995 NBA Finals. The Orlando Magic were a very exciting team in the 90s, especially after they landed O’Neal and Penny Hardaway.
These two created a terrific duo that, as Shaq said, was the last one to beat Michael Jordan in a playoff situation. They had something great in their hands, but egos got in the way and ruined a good thing for the Magic.
Penny Hardaway Says He Was The One Supposed To Win Championships With Shaquille O’Neal
Hardaway recently spoke on this, explaining how high he was in his partnership with Shaq, claiming that he should have been the one winning championships alongside the Big Diesel, not Kobe Bryant. In O’Neal’s documentary ‘Shaq,’ Penny revealed:
Penny Hardaway on Shaq:
“Man it was weird. To watch him to go to LA and to win championships. I really felt like [Orlando] had that same talent and we would’ve been able to mold the team around Shaq and myself. I was happy for him, but I was like ‘Man it should’ve been me.’” pic.twitter.com/Ua5AbZb040
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 8, 2022
“Man it was weird. To watch him to go to LA and to win championships. I really felt like [Orlando] had that same talent and we would’ve been able to mold the team around Shaq and myself. I was happy for him, but I was like, ‘Man it should’ve been me.’”
Shaq has always stated how great Penny was, even saying that he was Kobe before Kobe. O’Neal has lamented that things didn’t go well between them, but he knows they were great while they were together.
The legendary center would leave the Magic to join the Lakers in 1996, waiting a couple of seasons before finding success with a young Kobe Bryant, who proved to be the perfect partner for Shaq. We can only imagine how things would have gone for Hardaway and O’Neal, but for Penny, they would have thrived together.
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