“There was some jealousy there” - Penny Hardaway reveals frustration with Shaquille O'Neal's success with Kobe Bryant
Former Orlando Magic point guard Penny Hardaway appeared on the "Point Forward" Podcast and expressed his frustration and jealousy with Shaquille O'Neal's success with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The podcast's host asked Hardaway about his feelings when he saw Shaq having all the success at the Lakers. The former Magic star admitted that watching Shaq have the glory and win alongside Kobe made him jealous.
"Our team was just so young and then watching him (Shaquille O'Neal) and Kobe together. For sure, there was some jealousy there because I felt like that should have been me and Shaq," Hardaway said. "It just didn't happen man but I promise you if we would have stayed together there would have been championships won."
He said that when Shaq joined the Orlando Magic, he was young just like Hardaway and his other teammates. He remarked that Shaq was in the process of becoming 'The Man' which he eventually became later in his career.
The hosts of the Podcast then compared the Orlando version of Shaq against the Lakers' version. They highlighted that the Orlando version of Shaq was not mature enough and was not ready while the Lakers version was a more mature dominant figure but struggled with the occasional identity crisis on the court. Penny Hardaway also shared his opinion on the discussion revealing his trust in the Hall of Famer.
"I never had a problem at all because I knew Diesel was the man. I knew that to keep him happy was gonna help us win so that's how I've always been. I know Kobe was a strong mental guy as far as like wanting to take all the shots and with Shaq, they were gonna bump heads for sure."
Hardaway explained that he believed in Shaquille O'Neal and treated him as the main man of the team. However, he also expected a clash or worsening of the relationship between Kobe and Shaq, which eventually ended up happening during Shaq's time with the Lakers.
Shaquille O'Neal solves a problem for a fan with a kind gesture
Shaquille O'Neal is known as one of the most dominant centers in the history of the NBA. However, off the court, he is also known as one of the kindest persons to meet. Back in January this year, Shaq delighted a fan by solving a huge problem for him. Jor'el Bolden, a teen in Missouri, faced a lot of trouble for months. He was unable to find shoes that fit his huge 23-size feet.
Generally, shoes that big aren't kept in stores and one has to custom order them which makes them very expensive. Bolden and his mother started fundraisers so they could order custom shoes to solve the issue. The local news outlets picked up Bolden's story, resulting in his fundraiser meeting the target goal.
Moreover, when Shaquille O'Neal got to hear about this, he contacted Bolden and had a chat with him. The Hall of Famer might have related to the teen's situation as he was a child different from his peers growing up. After that within a week, three big boxes were delivered to Bolden's house containing shoes that fit his size perfectly.