Shaquille O’Neal On Forcing Orlando To Pick Penny Hardaway: Threatened To Leave Unless Demand Was Met

Shaquille O’Neal shared the hardwood with some of the greatest guards of his generation – Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and Penny Hardaway. But if it wasn’t for the movie ‘Blue Chips’, Shaq and Penny might have never gotten together in Orlando.

The four-time NBA champion was on the OGs podcast when Udonis Haslem asked him about his experience with Hardaway. Shaq reminisced about his first interaction with the 6’7 point guard, which came when they acted as teammates in the sports drama ‘Blue Chips’.

During the summer of ’93, O’Neal was booked to film the movie. On the Magic’s request, he went on to workout for three hours every day before filming. It was during one of those sessions that Shaq first saw Penny Hardaway in action.

“So we playing pick up and there’s this skinny motherf****er… And he nice with it. I’m like, ‘Damn, who’s this actor?’,” recalled Shaq.

He mentioned that he didn’t even know Hardaway was a top prospect in the country because “I don’t watch college basketball.” But with the 1993 NBA Draft around the corner, O’Neal was spurred to look into the Memphis guard.

He learned that Penny was a lock for the third pick in the draft, and when his Magic landed the #1 overall pick, Shaq decided to use his status to influence the team’s selection. He added that usually, “I’m not that guy,” but after playing alongside Hardaway during ‘Blue Chips’, “I had to become that,” O’Neal revealed.

Shaq forced the Magic’s management by saying, “Hey if y’all don’t get this Penny Hardaway kid, when my deal is up, I’m gonna do something new.” And it worked.

The Magic drafted Chris Webber 1st overall in 1993 before trading him to Golden State for Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway and three future first-round picks. When Penny was asked about this story, he shared that it was no coincidence that Shaq was allured by him either.

Hardaway made sure that Shaq liked him as a teammate

It did help that Hardaway and O’Neal were acting as teammates in the summer before the 1993 Draft. But it wasn’t sheer coincidence that made Shaq want to play alongside Penny for longer. Years after retirement, Penny Hardaway revealed how he had planned on enticing Shaquille O’Neal when he found out they would be filming together.

“I spoon-fed Shaq whatever he needed. I don’t even think I took a shot the entire movie, I just gave him every ball and said ‘It’s all about you big fella’, and it worked,” the four-time All-Star shared on the ‘Dan Patrick’ show.

He added how “Orlando would have taken him [Chris Webber] for sure if I would not have been in that movie.”

Diesel and the Magic will certainly not mind the manipulation. After all, Hardaway and Big Diesel led the team to three Conference Finals and the franchise’s first-ever NBA Finals. And to think, none of it would have been possible if not for ‘Blue Chips’.