64 Facts About Penny Hardaway

Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway was born on July 18,1971 and is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's team in the American Athletic Conference.

Penny Hardaway played for the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and the Miami Heat.

Penny Hardaway is the son of Fae Penny Hardaway was born on 1951 and and Eddie Golden.

Penny Hardaway's nickname came as a result of his grandmother's calling him "Pretty" with a southern drawl, thus sounding like "Penny".

Penny Hardaway was raised in the Binghampton neighborhood of shotgun houses in Memphis.

Penny Hardaway grew up playing basketball in Memphis for Treadwell High School where he averaged 36.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.9 steals, and 2.8 blocks as a senior and was named Parade Magazine National High School player of the year.

Penny Hardaway finished his high school career with 3,039 points.

Penny Hardaway's grades were so low that he was admitted to the university on a special exemption from University President Thomas G Carpenter.

Penny Hardaway took the ACT five times with a maximum score of 17.2, with 17.5 being required to be eligible to play in college.

Penny Hardaway returned to school while rehabbing his foot when the bullet was removed; that year, he made the Dean's List.

Penny Hardaway was teammates with Chris Webber, Bobby Hurley, Jamal Mashburn, Rodney Rogers, Eric Montross, Grant Hill, and Allan Houston.

Penny Hardaway returned for his junior season and bettered his numbers from the previous season.

Penny Hardaway averaged 22.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.4 apg, 2.4 spg, and 1.2 bpg.

Penny Hardaway was a finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year and the John R Wooden Award that are annually given the most outstanding player in college basketball.

Penny Hardaway achieved a 3.4 cumulative GPA, but passed up his senior season to enter the 1993 NBA Draft.

Penny Hardaway returned to the University of Memphis in May 2003 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in professional studies, ten years after leaving school early to turn pro.

Penny Hardaway was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft, but was traded along with three future first-round picks to the Orlando Magic for the rights to first overall pick Chris Webber.

Two days before the draft, Penny Hardaway participated in a pick-up basketball game with several Magic players and local talent and impressed the organization enough to make the draft day trade.

Penny Hardaway immediately made an impact on the league, winning the Most Valuable Player award at the inaugural Schick Rookie Game.

Penny Hardaway helped the Magic to their first playoff berth and first 50-win season.

Penny Hardaway averaged 16 points, 6.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds per game while his 190 steals ranked 6th in the league.

Penny Hardaway was named a starter in his first NBA All-Star Game and was named All-NBA First Team.

Penny Hardaway was named a starter in the NBA All-Star Game for the second consecutive season while leading the Magic to a franchise record 60 wins.

Penny Hardaway was again the only player in the NBA who averaged at least 20 points and five assists and shot 50 percent on field goals during the regular season.

Penny Hardaway later admitted his first serious knee injury was sustained in a 1996 playoff game against Detroit when Joe Dumars hit him in the back of his knee but he played through the pain.

Penny Hardaway then said he underwent surgery during the off-season and felt that the injury had robbed him of his explosiveness.

Penny Hardaway averaged 9 points, 4.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.4 steals in the eight games.

Penny Hardaway struggled through an injury-filled season but still managed to be named a starter for the third consecutive time in the NBA All-Star game.

Penny Hardaway then scored 42 points in game 3 and 41 in Game 4 to force a Game 5 in Miami.

Penny Hardaway scored 33 points in Game 5 but the Magic fell short.

Penny Hardaway finished the playoffs with averages of 31 points, 6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.

Penny Hardaway's playoff scoring average finished a close second to Michael Jordan.

Penny Hardaway played his last game a week after the All-Star game and missed the remainder of the season.

Penny Hardaway returned during the lockout-shortened 1999 season and managed to play in all 50 regular-season games to lead the Magic to a share of the best regular-season record in the Eastern Conference.

Penny Hardaway averaged 15.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists, and his 111 steals placed him 5th in the league.

The Magic then lost a first-round series to the Philadelphia 76ers in which Penny Hardaway averaged 19 points, 5.5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2.3 steals.

In 369 regular season games with the Magic, Penny Hardaway averaged 19 points, 6.3 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game.

Penny Hardaway stepped up and recorded a 17-point, 13-assist, 12-rebound triple-double in a crucial Game 3 win.

Penny Hardaway averaged 20.3 points, 5.7 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 1 block per game during the nine playoff games.

Penny Hardaway's steady veteran play was a key component to a team that had young stars such as Marbury, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Shawn Marion.

Penny Hardaway finished the regular season averaging 10.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.1 steals.

Penny Hardaway averaged 12.7 points, 6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 steals in the series.

Penny Hardaway was traded to the New York Knicks January 6,2004, along with Marbury and backup center Cezary Trybanski in exchange for Howard Eisley, Maciej Lampe, Charlie Ward, and Antonio McDyess.

Penny Hardaway averaged 8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 34 games for the Suns.

In 42 regular-season games with the Knicks, Penny Hardaway averaged 9.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1 steal.

Penny Hardaway led the Knicks in scoring in two playoff games while averaging 16.5 points, 5.8 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.5 steals in the series.

Penny Hardaway averaged 11.9 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in an 11-game span during the middle part of the season.

Penny Hardaway finished the season averaging 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2 assists in 37 games.

Penny Hardaway averaged 2.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2 assists in those games.

On February 22,2006, Penny Hardaway was traded back to Orlando, along with Trevor Ariza, for Steve Francis.

In 2011, Penny Hardaway took over for his friend Desmond Merriweather as a coach for his middle school alma mater, Lester Middle School, while Merriweather was undergoing treatment for colon cancer.

Penny Hardaway was hired as head coach by his alma mater, the Memphis Tigers, on March 19,2018, replacing Tubby Smith.

In 2023, Penny Hardaway led Memphis to an American Athletic Conference championship and a berth in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, getting eliminated in controversial fashion to FAU.

Penny Hardaway was featured in the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series film This Magic Moment which focuses on the Orlando Magic teams led by him and Shaquille O'Neal in the mid-1990s.

Penny Hardaway made more than $120 million in his 16-season career.

Penny Hardaway owns a barbershop and beauty salon in downtown Memphis and a turf business based in Miami.

Penny Hardaway is known for his efforts to promote sports in Memphis.

Penny Hardaway provided funding to build the University of Memphis Sports Hall of Fame.

In 2011, Penny Hardaway announced plans for a permanent $20 million multi-sports facility named FastBreak Courts Sportsplex in Cordova.

In 2012, Penny Hardaway was announced to be part of an ownership group including Peyton Manning and Justin Timberlake that was to purchase a minority stake in the Memphis Grizzlies.

Penny Hardaway has two sons, Jayden and Ashton, who both play for their father at Memphis.

Penny Hardaway has two daughters born in 1992 and 1995, both with his former girlfriend from high school.

Penny Hardaway has a son who was a sophomore in high school in 2017.

On December 29,2023, Penny Hardaway received his first ever nomination to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.