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Shaquille O'Neal Says Prime Penny Hardaway Was Better Than Kobe Bryant

Shandel Richardson

Mar 2, 1996; Orlando, FL; USA; FILE PHOTO; Orlando Magic guard Penny Hardaway (1) in action against Portland Trail Blazers forward Harvey Grant (44) at the Orlando Arena. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 1996; Orlando, FL; USA; FILE PHOTO; Orlando Magic guard Penny Hardaway (1) in action against Portland Trail Blazers forward Harvey Grant (44) at the Orlando Arena. Mandatory Credit: RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports / RVR Photos-USA TODAY Sports
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Shaquille O'Neal has had some strong supportive players during his NBA career.

None of them, though, compare to Penny Hardaway. O'Neal and Hardaway were teammates with the Orlando Magic in the early 1990s. They were among the league's most dynamic duos, leading the Magic to the Finals in 1995.

On an episode of The Big Podcast, O'Neal put Hardaway above the great Kobe Bryant. That's saying a lot considering O'Neal and Bryant won three titles together with the Los Angeles Lakers.

They [fans] ask me all the time, they say, ‘Who’s better, Penny or Kobe?’ And I’ll always say, Penny [Hardaway] was Kobe [Bryant] before Kobe," O'Neal said "… They act like they don’t understand what I’m talking about."

O'Neal, who also won a championship with Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat, said Hardaway separated himself from others because of his early impact. Hardaway was an All-Star by his second season. His career would have been much better if not for injuries.

Hardaway is in the category with Grant Hill and Brandon Roy as players would have been more celebrated if not for a series of injuries.

"Penny came in Day 1 like this," O'Neal said. "Kobe first year, don’t start. Second year, didn’t start. Third year, upstairs saying, ‘Okay, hey, it’s time for him to play.’ It took him 600 to 900 days to become the Black Mamba.”'

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day NBA. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson

SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com