The remarkable part — honestly, the sad part — is that younger basketball fans know Penny Hardaway primarily as the head coach of the Memphis Tigers.
He’s a very good coach; he’s on the doorstep of a fifth 20-win season in five years at the university for which he once starred as a player.
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But there was a moment — so fleeting — when Hardaway was one of the biggest basketball stars in the world.
His first four years with the Magic went this way: All-Rookie first team, All-NBA first team, All-NBA first team, All-NBA third team.
The Magic, with Shaquille O’Neal and Hardaway paired, were the best show in the NBA during Michael Jordan’s sabbatical.
Even after Jordan returned and Shaq fled for L.A.,…
