Penny Hardaway

Penny Hardaway is a retired NBA point guard and current college basketball coach whose career bridged superstardom, adversity and reinvention. A standout at Memphis State University, he was the nation’s high school player of the year as a senior and became an All-American in 1993 after averaging 22.8 points per game, establishing himself as one of the premier guards in the country.

Selected third overall in the 1993 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors and traded on draft night to the Orlando Magic, Hardaway made an immediate impact. He helped lead the Magic to their first playoff appearance while averaging 16 points per game as a rookie, then rose to elite status alongside Shaquille O’Neal. In the 1994–95 season, Hardaway guided Orlando to a franchise-record 57 wins and an NBA Finals appearance, earning All-NBA honors before the Magic fell to the Houston Rockets.

Injuries later altered the trajectory of his career, but Hardaway still logged 15 NBA seasons with the Magic, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Miami Heat, retiring in 2007. After leaving the court, he transitioned into coaching and returned to his roots as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Memphis, where he has led the program since 2018, bringing renewed national attention to his alma mater.