Orlando Magic legend Penny Hardaway's rise to stardom with an innovative skill set for a tall guard set the groundwork for future mega stars to succeed in today's NBA.
The common thread during a conversation regarding former Orlando Magic great Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway includes the constant injuries and abrupt ending to his once promising career. A 6'7 point guard was extremely rare back in 1993 something not seen since the days of Earvin "Magic" Johnson standing at 6'9 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Since his retirement players such as the Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James and Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons have carried on the "Point Forward" role.
The athleticism with the skill set turned Hardaway into an instant young star in the early 1990's using his height to tower over traditionally smaller guards. A match up nightmare for opponents as Hardway could play three positions often using his
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After O'Neal's departure during the 1996 offseason Hardaway was thrusted into the spotlight alone and hit with various knee injuries eventually leading to his trade to the Phoenix Suns. During his six seasons in a Magic uniform, Hardaway not only put up All-Star numbers he helped to bring a basketball culture to the Orlando, Florida area.
O'Neal was inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame back in in March of 2015 shared his thoughts on leaving Hardaway and the franchise during the press conference. The four time NBA champion would go on to say "That's why I kind of regret it, because we had a young, fabulous team, We really did, and it's a shame that we got torn apart. But I think about that all the time. I try not to live my life now on 'ifs' or 'would've, should've,' but do I regret leaving here in '96? Yes I
In the article, it states that in the spring of 1969 the Bucks with only two years of existence choose Alcindor as their first overall NBA pick. The biography states “In the spring of 1969 the Milwaukee Bucks, in only their second year of existence, selected Alcindor with the first overall pick in the NBA draft” (“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography”). With this statement being said Ferdinand was an amazing basketball player to be chosen as the first overall pick in the NBA draft not a lot of athletes can say that in the professional league. After only being with the Bucks for only a year Alcindor was making great progress! He finished second in the league with most points, third in rebounds, and also being named the league rookie of the year he quickly adjusted to the game you can say. The article states “He finished second in the league in scoring and third in rebounding, and was named Rookie of the Year” (“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography”). This being said Alcindor made a big impact his first year in the NBA. After making a few adjustments to the Bucks rooster the following years and adding a well needed player Oscar Robertson in 1971 the Bucks finished their regular season 66 wins and 16 loses and the success did not stop there. They finished the season strong by sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA finals which means they won the series 4-0 and Alcindor played a big role in this. The biography states “The following season the Bucks, having added future Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson to their roster, made another huge leap. The team finished the regular season 66-16 and then steamrolled through the playoffs, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA finals” (“Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Biography”). In conclusion to the statement with Alcindor and Oscar in the team it made a big difference which lead the Bucks to win
Earl Lloyd was probably the most courageous player of all time. Some people know him as “The Big Cat” others know him as the first African-American to play in an NBA basketball game with the whites; he changed the way people think and look at basketball and black players and coaches. Earl Lloyd loved basketball from a very young age. Earl had two brothers older than him which was Earnest and Theodore. Earl was very dedicated from a very young age. With his high school team he took them to a state championship and won. After high school Earl went off and took his talents to West Virginia State College. While Earl was there his sophomore year they went 33-0 which is a perfect season. Earl’s team won back to back CIAA conference championships and tournament championships.
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 Co...
17 year-old Rashim Lancit was the standard senior at LaSalle High School. His best friends were Andrew and Colin. They played together for their high school basketball team. However, Rashim loved the game of basketball more than his friends and dreamed to go to the NBA. He thought there was no way that he would make it there. However, that all changed one Friday night at the LaSalle basketball game.
Shortly before the deadline Larry finally signed with the Boston Celtics for $650,000, making him the highest paid rookie in NBA history. Larry's collegiate rival Earvin 'Magic' Johnson had also entered the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. Not only did they fight for the National Championship a year before, but their rookie seasons they were both in the run for Rookie of the Year. Magic may have taken the NCAA title but Larry took the Rookie of the Year award and was voted into the Eastern Conference All- Star team in the 1979- '80 season.
In spring of 1991, the University of Michigan signed what was arguably the best recruiting class in the history of college basketball. Coach Steve Fisher signed five of the nation's top prospects - Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson. Webber and Rose were childhood friends from Detroit who turned into McDonald's All Americans. The 6'9" power forward, Webber, was regarded as the number one player in the nation. Rose was a tall guard standing 6'7", who played like a young Magic Johnson. Howard, another McDonald's All American, was a multi-talented forward from Chicago. Texas natives King and Jackson capped off the Fab Five Freshman. While Jackson was an incredible defensive player, King was a super athletic guard [Wieberg].
Although many youngsters fail in the NBA, there are a few high school players who have had, or do have a successful career in the NBA. Some of these are, Moses Malone, Kobe Bryant, Tracey McGrady, and this year’s most valu...
When I began my report I didn’t know much about Michael Jordan, but I did know that he was “undoubtedly the greatest player in the history of the NBA'; (“Michael Air Jordan'; 1). It seemed like every time I heard the word basketball I also heard the name Michael Jordan. There’s just no avoiding him. If you are watching television you might see him playing basketball or golf. If you were reading a magazine there will probably be an advertisement with his picture. If you were walking down the street you might see a kid wearing Air Jordan shoes or a Bulls jersey with “JORDAN'; on the back of it. This man is probably as recognizable as the Pope.
77% of NBA basketball players are African-American, approximately 343 players, compared to the 0% or none we had in the earlier 1950’s, in just 60 years we went up 77%. (Travis Waldron 63 Years Ago Today
Shaquille O’Neal was an NBA center; his life has been pretty fascinating as you can tell. Shaq was the most dominant center to ever live because he hold the number one spot for blocks, rebounds, and points in his position. So therefore you can tell by stats that he was one of if not the most dominant players to ever live, you can ask anyone and they will tell you the same thing, people might even say he was the best rookie to ever come out of college, as well as one of the best players to come out of high
It was not until the year 2002 that the NBA was able to find someone to match Jordan’s dazzling acrobatic style of play. His name is Lebron James. Lebron, who plays shooting guard and small forward, stands at an athletic six-eight. James, however, never played in the NCAA. He was drafted straight out of high school in the 2003-04 season, by the Cleveland Cavaliers. James is already on the road to success by achieving co-rookie of the year, and he appeared in the Olympics. James is expected to be a champion, but he may not have what it takes to become a real champion such as Michael Jordan was. Before Jordan or James can be categorized as a champion, they have to be able to handle pressure, fame, and maintain a positive relationship with their team. When comparing Jordan and James’ clutch capabilities, or their ab...
some of the best rebounders and defenders in the league. To be a good rebounder and defender, the basketball player either has to be tall, fast, or strong. So, it would make sense that they are good at rebounding and defending because they are tall, fast, and strong. They were both picked in the first round of the NBA draft. It is really hard for a basketball player to get picked in the first round but, that just shows how good they really are. Both of the teams obviously liked the two stars be...
Attention Getter: “I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a Baller, I wish I had a girl who looked good I would call her.” That timeless phrase coined by Ski-Lo in the early nineties, resonates with so many of us because all of those goals are things that people relate to being successful. And while I can’t help you with the first and the last respectively, becoming a “Basket-baller” is quite feasible, with a little hard work.
There are now even more international players in the league today, and many of them show great potential. International players like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis are just few examples of rising stars in the game(Segal 79). As of today the NBA is in a phase known as the LeBron era(Segal 22). Right now, guards are being seen as more of the focal point of the team rather than big men(Segal 33). Some of today’s brightest stars include guards like Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Stephen Curry(Segal 10). Last but not least, players are forced to play a lot softer today than in the past due to multiple rule changes(Trenchard, NBA Then and
Earvin “Magic” Johnson did not earn his nickname of “Magic” for nothing. In 13 season playing for the Los Angeles Lakers he averaged a career double-double with 19.5 points and 11.2 assists per season (The Announcement). This led his team to many championships and put Magic in talks as one of the greatest point guards of all-time. Sadly this career was cut short by a terrible disease that developed in the 1980’s called HIV. This has now made him an advocate for HIV awareness and also pushed him to form organizations to help find a cure for the HIV virus. During this time in history HIV was emerging all over America and for someone of Magic’s caliber to get it shocked the whole nation. Through Magic getting this disease and rising above it showed that it was possible to live through this terrible disease. Magic Johnson overcame the world by facing the adversity of his diagnosis, by facing the critics of how he got the disease, coming back to the sport he loved, and becoming a figure to help cure HIV.