The late Kobe Bryant and Orlando Magic superstar Penny Hardaway may have only faced each other 13 times, but comparisons of the latter being better than the Los Angeles Lakers icon continues to do the rounds.
If it was former Laker Shaquille O’Neal who earlier said Hardaway was Kobe before Kobe, another former Magic star echoed a similar sentiment.
Nick Anderson, in a recent interview with Basketball News, said the shooting guard would have had a career like Bryant if not for the knee injuries that dented his playing time.
“I know Kobe was Kobe, but if Penny Hardaway never got hurt, people would be talking about him in the same breath.”
Kobe Bryant Had His Grudge Against Penny Hardaway
Bryant’s ability to convert slights and insults to motivation and perform consistently is well-known, but that he had a slight beef with the Magic player does come as a surprise considering their relatively few matchups.
Per a Fox report, the Lakers guard had his share of grudge against Hardaway, except the latter never really got it.
One of the instances saw him have a positive word about O’Neal (who he would be involved in a long-standing feud with during their time at Los Angeles) when he met him as a kid, but not as much about the current Memphis Tigers men’s basketball coach.
Kobe said Shaq was "really nice" when he met him as a kid. But, "Penny, not so much. I kinda carried that w/ me for the rest of my career."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) March 28, 2016
Kobe said Shaq was “really nice” when he met him as a kid. But, “Penny, not so much. I kinda carried that w/ me for the rest of my career.”
Hardaway’s career was riddled with injuries that began in 1998 and eventually had four more surgeries on his left knee that put his career off track.
He was traded to the Phoenix Suns the following year and was eventually acquired by the New York Knicks in 2004. After two-and-a-half seasons where his injuries persisted, he was signed by Miami Heat but waived after suiting up for 16 games.
