Happy Birthday, Penny Hardaway!

when i was in the minor seminary, one of the most coveted numbers in a basketball jersey is number 1 because of anfernee "penny" hardaway.

hardaway was one of the exciting young combo guards of the mid to late 90's in the nba. his height and explosiveness were distinct qualities that made him more than the traditional point guard. his game somehow revolutionized the perspective of point guards as distributors and ball-handlers to dynamic scorers. thanks to his team-up with then-rising star shaquille o'neal, the orlando magic had deep runs in the nba playoffs, even reaching the finals in 1995 only to be swept by hakeem olajuwon and the houston rockets for the championship. despite the return of michael jordan and the re-establishment of the chicago bulls dynasty, the magic went far in the playoffs because of hardaway's solid performance on court. unfortunately, his career took a bump after suffering a knee injury. despite his several attempts of coming back into the game, penny was never the same player that he used to be. if not for that injury, he could have had a great run in the nba and perhaps winning a championship along the way.

besides his game, one of the most memorable facets of hardaway in the nba is his shoes. besides michael jordan, he had an iconic collection of signature shoes with nike which includes air go lwp, air up, air flight one, air max penny 1, air penny 2, air penny 3, and air foamposite one. however, because of a career cut short due to knee injury, his signature line of basketball shoes also entered into retirement. but with the emergence of hybrid models, penny's shoes were given a new face through the half cent and zoom rookie. and lately, the return of retro models also ushered in the comeback of his signature line in the market.

i'm quite fortunate to own several models from his shoe line. i never thought that a shoe made for a combo guard like penny was quite comfortable for someone who played forward/center most of the time. when i was in high school, my next valuable pair of kicks besides the air jordan 12 cherry was the air penny 3 blackout. air penny 2 has to be one of the most comfortable gaming shoes i ever worn. i haven't tried how air max penny 1 feels on foot but the performance would surely be close with the other models.