Welcome to the Peter Lockhart Orlando Magic Home Page. Here you can find out information about the best player in the NBA, Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway. This page is dedicated to Penny Hardaway. First and foremost is the greatest athlete to ever play the game of basketball.......

Anfernee Hardaway, "Penny" as he is affectionately known by his fans, is probably the most gifted athlete to enter the NBA since Michael Jordan. The superstar point gaurd of the Magic has already been to the NBA Finals, is a two-time all-star, a two-time All-NBA first teamer, a member of Dream Team III and runner-up to the rookie of the year award in the '93-'94 season. Only in his fourth year in the league, Penny has become one of the most popular and recognizable peresonalities in the NBA today. He is only one of two players (the other being Michael Jordan) to have a Nike shoe with his name, not just initials, and his commercials featuring Little Penny are the best that Nike has ever had. Already selected by Air Jordan himself to be the NBA's next megastar, Penny is ready to lead the league into the twenty-first century.

The Nickname: When Anfernee was a child his grandmother would call him "pretty", however, because of her deep southern accent, friends misinterpreted it as "penny" and the name stuck.

Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway is a wonderfully talented point guard whose shooting, passing, and athletic abilities earned him a spot on the All-NBA First Team in only his second season in the league. Often compared to Magic Johnson, the 6-foot-7 Hardaway combines height, ballhandling, and an accurate outside stroke into an exciting all-around game. A native of Memphis, Hardaway always seemed destined for roundball success. He was Parade magazine's National High School Player of the Year in 1990, when as a prep senior he averaged 36.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.3 steals, and 2.8 blocks. He chose to attend nearby Memphis State (now the University of Memphis) but had to sit out 1990-91 in order to become academically eligible. Hardaway, who achieved a 3.4 cumulative grade point average in college, ripped up the Great Midwestern Conference for two seasons. As a junior in 1992-93 he averaged 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 6.4 assists; shot .477 from the field; recorded 2 triple-doubles; and set a school single-season record for points with 729. He was named conference Player of the Year, a First-Team All-American, and a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden Awards. The Orlando Magic, who had secured Shaquille O'Neal with the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NBA Draft, won the NBA Draft Lottery again in 1993. The team took Michigan's Chris Webber with the No. 1 pick and immediately traded him to the Golden State Warriors for Hardaway and three first-round draft picks. The Warriors had chosen Hardaway with the third overall pick in the same draft. (Shawn Bradley went to the Philadelphia 76ers at No. 2.) In an effort to ease Hardaway's adjustment to playing point guard in the NBA, Magic Coach Brian Hill started him at off guard for the first half of his rookie season. Hill eventually moved Hardaway to the point, and the 21-year-old rookie finished with averages of 16.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team and finished six votes behind Webber for the Rookie of the Year Award. In only his second year in the league Hardaway emerged as a top NBA guard. He averaged 20.9 points and 7.2 assists, started in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, and helped the Magic to the best record (57-25) in the Eastern Conference. Orlando romped all the way to the NBA Finals before being swept by the Houston Rockets in four games. Proving his worth as a prime-time player, Hardaway averaged 25.5 points and 8.0 assists in the series against the Rockets. Following the 1994-95 season, Hardaway was named to the 1996 Dream Team, which will compete in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. Transactions: Selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round (third pick overall) of the 1993 NBA Draft. Traded by the Warriors with three future first-round draft choices to the Orlando Magic for rights to Chris Webber on 6/30/93. 1994-95: In his second NBA season Hardaway established himself as one of the best in the business. As the floor general for the Eastern Conference-champion Orlando Magic, he averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.69 steals. He finished 15th in the league in scoring (first among point guards), 14th in assists, and 14th in steals. He shot .512 from the floor (24th in the league) and hit 87 three-pointers for a .349 percentage. The Magic went 11-0 in games in which Hardaway scored 30 or more points. On February 26 he scorched the Chicago Bulls for a career-high 39 points, hitting 17 of 25 shots, including the game-winner with 0.7 seconds remaining. His previous career best had come on December 16, when he burned the Golden State Warriors for 38 points. Hardaway tallied 19 assists against the Boston Celtics on April 13 and 18 assists versus the Miami Heat on April 15. He missed five games during the year, four to dehydration and inflammation of the esophagus suffered late in the season. Fans voted Hardaway to a starting spot in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game, and he scored 12 points and dished for a team-high 11 assists. He was also named to the All-NBA First Team at season's end after helping Orlando to the league's second-best home record of all time at 39-2. As well as he performed during the regular season, Hardaway was even better in the playoffs. The Magic dispatched the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls in the first two rounds, won the Eastern Conference in a seven-game tilt with the Indiana Pacers, and then were swept in the NBA Finals by the Houston Rockets in four games. Hardaway increased his scoring average in each of the successive rounds: 15.5 points per game against Boston, 18.5 against Chicago, 19.6 against Indiana, and 25.5 against Houston. He shot .500 (35-of-70) from the field in the Finals, nailed 11 three-point goals in those four games, registered four double-doubles in points and assists in the playoffs, and averaged 7.7 assists for the postseason. 1993-94: As early as his sophomore season at Memphis State, Anfernee Hardaway's game was so polished and his skills so diverse that he was hailed as the second coming of Magic Johnson. By his junior year, the 6-foot-7 guard was a consensus First Team All-American and a two-time Great Midwest Conference Player of the Year. When the man they call "Penny" announced he would pass up his senior season to enter the 1994 NBA Draft, he became one of the most coveted prospects in the land. Hardaway landed on the roster of the Orlando Magic, but not until after the biggest draft-day trade in recent history. The Magic had won the draft lottery and selected Chris Webber with the first overall pick. After the Philadelphia 76ers took Shawn Bradley at No. 2, the Golden State Warriors claimed Hardaway at No. 3. But the Warriors were looking for a big man, and the Magic were looking for a backcourt complement to Shaquille O'Neal. As a result, Orlando traded Webber's rights to Golden State for the rights to Hardaway and three future first-round draft choices. Orlando Coach Brian Hill viewed Hardaway as the team's point guard of the future, but Hill elected to bring the rookie along slowly. Through the first half of the season, Hardaway started at the off guard slot while veteran Scott Skiles started at the point. But by midseason Hill felt Hardaway was ready, and on February 6 Penny became the Magic's starting point guard for the rest of the year. The multitalented rookie had a phenomenal first season, finishing a close second to Webber for the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. Hardaway played and started in all 82 games, averaging 16.0 points, 6.6 assists and 5.4 rebounds. He also set a club record with 190 steals, and his average of 2.32 steals per game ranked sixth in the NBA. Hardaway was named NBA Rookie of the Month for January after averaging 20.5 points, 7.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.33 steals over 15 games. In February, Hardaway was named the MVP of the NBA Rookie Game during All-Star Weekend in Minneapolis. He scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor. Bolstered by Hardaway's contributions, the Magic set a franchise record with 50 victories and advanced to the playoffs for the first time ever. Orlando lost in the first round to the Indiana Pacers, but many felt that, for the Magic and for Hardaway, the best was yet to come.