Apart from his resume of six championships, if there’s anything Michael Jordan is known for, it’s his sneaker empire. Air Jordan’s rise to global dominance went hand in hand with Mike’s incredible career. Fans wanted to buy the shoes because the greatest basketball player alive was wearing them. Therefore, you can imagine how big of a deal it was when Jordan played a playoff game in Penny Hardaway’s sneakers.
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The former Orlando Magic guard shared his feelings on the topic during his appearance on the ‘Out the Mud’ podcast.
” [In] ’95 MJ wore my shoes. The shoes was kryptonite,” the 53-year-old joked. “My shoes on his feet was kryptonite.”
With All-Star and All-NBA selections, Hardaway was a star in the making when Jordan returned to the hardwood in 1995. The two would immediately get to face off, as Orlando and Chicago matched up in the second round of the playoffs. However, in a surprising turn of events, MJ would give Hardaway his flowers by wearing the Magic guard’s ‘Penny’ sneakers during game 3 in front of his home crowd at United Center.
It was an understandably heartwarming moment for the young guard, who still appreciates the five-time MVP’s gesture.
“The only shoes he’s worn outside of his were mine. That’s nothing but love,” Hardaway reflected. The Magic would beat the Bulls in that game, and eventually win the series in 6, becoming the only team to eliminate Jordan and his Bulls during the 90s.
Though it would earn them the fiercely competitive superstar’s wrath the following season, Penny remained grateful for MJ. “For him to do that for me, it was the ultimate level of respect,” the four-time All-Star had previously said. But he also joked that Jordan probably burned the shoes after the ’95 series.
Trevor Ariza believes Hardaway was better than Jordan
During the same podcast, Penny was asked about his former teammate’s comparison between him and MJ. Trevor Ariza was drafted by the Knicks in 2004, shortly after the team landed Hardaway and Stephon Marbury from the Phoenix Suns.
Though lingering knee injuries had derailed Penny’s stardom, Ariza was impressed enough by his skillset to rank him above Michael Jordan. Hardaway commented on Trevor’s praise, saying “When you got guys that understand what they like in somebody’s game — playmaking, passing, shooting — my skillset was higher than MJ’s. So that’s probably what he [Ariza] is like, man he’s better than MJ from a skillset point of view.”
He did concede that MJ is the GOAT overall, and made sure to reciprocate the love shown to him by the Bulls legend. But comparisons like these just go on to show the nuclear potential that Hardaway’s career had.
