“Penny Hardaway Dogging Him Out”: Prior to $115,000,000 Rejection, Shaquille O’Neal Disliked Star Teammate Disrespecting Teenage Kobe Bryant

It is no secret that Shaquille O’Neal’s time at the Orlando Magic ended in turbulent fashion. In his book, Shaq Talks Back, O’Neal talked about one of his last memories from his time at the franchise. Fellow star at the Magic, Penny Hardaway had met a young Kobe Bryant who was still in high school, at a game against the Philadelphia 76ers. While Shaq himself knew who Kobe was and took the time to talk to him about his future, Hardaway did not. He had no idea who Bryant was and failed to help him when he asked about his future. This was when Hardaway had just established himself as the top dog at the Magic. This eventually led to the refusal of O’Neal’s $115,000,000 million contract demand, which resulted in him joining the LA Lakers.

During that time, Penny Hardaway was seemingly Kobe Bryant’s favorite player. As a young and aspiring talent on his journey to the NBA, Kobe held a deep admiration for Penny’s skills and style of play. He saw Penny as a role model and someone he looked up to in the basketball world. Despite his desire to seek guidance from Penny, the young Kobe was hesitant to approach him for advice. However, in his heart, Kobe knew that receiving advice from Penny could significantly impact his development as a basketball player and propel him further toward his dreams in the NBA.

Shaquille O’Neal wrote about his final memory at Magic involving Kobe Bryant and Penny Hardaway

While Shaq was well aware of who Kobe was even in high school, Penny Hardaway wasn’t. Hardaway unfortunately had no idea who Kobe was when he approached his idol. The eventual Lakers legend was looking for advice about choosing college.

However, Hardaway ended up giving him some generic suggestions. The meeting lasted a mere moments, drastically underwhelming the then Lower Merion prospect:

“One of my last memories from Orlando came one day when I walked into the locker room and met this young high-school kid who everybody was saying was gonna be a great player. His favorite player at that time was Penny. Penny took the picture, signed something real quick and walked off. Didn’t say hi to him, didn’t ask him where he was going to college, see what he was really about. I was standing right there and couldn’t believe it. Penny [Hardaway] dogging him out.”

Shaq added:

”I walked up to the kid. ‘What’s up, man, how you doing? You all right? Everything all right?’ I was there for maybe five minutes, getting to know him a little because he seemed like a real bright young kid who was happy to meet me. His dad even played in the NBA at one point. ‘Nice to meet you,’ I told this young kid before he left. ‘Good luck, dog. See you in the NBA.’

O’Neal had little idea that he was meeting his future teammate for the first time. The two ended up winning 3 back-to-back titles, cementing themselves as bonafide NBA legends in the process.

Penny Hardaway was surprised Bryant remembered the first meeting between them

Speaking on the All The Smoke podcast in 2020, Hardaway revealed that Kobe Bryant remembered their first meeting when the two played against each other. Kobe, now a young superstar for the Lakers, ended up surprising Penny when he brought the meeting up.

Hardaway revealed that while he initially did not know Kobe, he eventually felt bad for how he had reacted. Bryant revealed his chagrin at Hardaway not remembering.

While the point guard got the best of Bryant during the game, he had seen enough to acknowledge his potential. There is little doubt that Hardaway was respectful of the late Lakers player, and regretted the way their first meeting went.