“Penny Hardaway Over Kyrie Irving, Not a Competition!”: Shaquille O’Neal Once Refused to Even Explain His Controversial Pick

Shaquille O’Neal just loves making headlines… whether it be for good reasons, or horrible, horrible ones that fans just can’t stop criticizing him for. But, to be fair to the man, no matter what he hears, he never changes, simply staying true to who he is.

Is that admirable? Absolutely!

But more importantly, it also makes him the perfect type of person to be a guest on any given sports podcast on the planet.

During one such appearance, Shaq was asked a question that most would split their heads over.

And yet, the man didn’t even get close to stuttering with his answer.

Let’s get into it, shall we?

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Shaquille O’Neal once said Penny Hardaway was undoubtedly better than Kyrie Irving has been in the NBA

Shaquille O’Neal may be most famous for his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, but many sometimes forget that he spent time with the Orlando Magic for a long time before he made his trip to the West coast.

In his 4 seasons in Orlando, O’Neal was paired up with seemingly the perfect point guard in Penny Hardaway. But, as many know now, Hardaway’s career would soon be derailed by a knee injury that robbed him completely of his explosive game.

A saddening tale, to say the least. However, when most talk about all-time rankings, they don’t often rate a player on how good they could have been if not for a certain injury.

No, instead they just go ahead with how good the athletes were in their prime, or sometimes on how much quality their career in its entirety displayed.

But apparently, Shaq doesn’t agree with that way of doing things.

If you don’t believe that, simply take a look at the YouTube clip below.

Of course, there may be some bias here. After all, this pair spent a lot of time together.

However, it doesn’t stop there. Instead, it runs much, much deeper than that.

 

Shaquille O’Neal once made quite the claim about Penny Hardaway that involved Kobe Bryant

Many who watched Penny Hardaway during his time in the NBA make tall claims about who the man could have been if not for the injury. And frankly, it’s hard to see why not, given the player he was.

However, speaking of how he was, rather than what he could have been, Shaquille O’Neal once dubbed him to be the Kobe Bryant before Kobe Bryant, something you can read in complete detail, here.

With the man holding Penny in such high regard, it’s no wonder Kyrie Irving is no competition in his mind.

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