“My shoe on his feet was Kryptonite”: Penny Hardaway recalls when Michael Jordan wore Magic star’s signature Nike kicks
While injuries held back Penny Hardaway from reaching the peak of his basketball skillset, he still managed to have a lengthy career with memorable moments. One of them involved Michael Jordan wearing his signature shoes.
Hardaway reflected on that memory during an episode of the "Out The Mud Podcast" uploaded to YouTube on Dec. 4. He specified that it happened in 1995, the year Jordan returned to the NBA after, initially retiring in 1993, to play baseball.
Jordan and Hardaway met in the 1995 postseason with the Chicago Bulls facing the Orlando Magic in the East Semifinals. After being out of the league for a significant period of time, Jordan's form was not at its best as Hardaway helped the Magic beat the Bulls in six games en route to reaching the NBA Finals. They finished as runner-ups after getting swept by the Houston Rockets.
"95 MJ wore my shoes. So '95 MJ man, the shoes was Kryptonite. My shoes on his feet was Kryptonite. We ended up beating them and yeah, after that, he probably burned them off," Hardaway said.
Penny Hardaway made a critical statement on Memphis' NCAA Tourney chances
As head coach of the Memphis Tigers, Penny Hardaway and Co.'s qualification to the NCAA Tournament was the bar of standards for the program.
The conference they play in, the American Athletic Conference, is not recognized by those associated with the NCAA Tournament as a high-level league compared to the SEC, ACC, and Big East among others. Hardaway gave his outlook on the Tigers' situation.
“They do not respect one team in our conference, which is unfortunate If you just win our conference, you’re going to be 8, 9 or lower. That’s not what we want. We want a 4-seed or higher to put us in position where we can have a couple games – that’s how most of these teams get to the Sweet 16 every year. So, these next four games are pivotal for us,” Hardaway said.
Memphis is 7-2 to start the season, with notable ranked victories over UConn and Michigan State. However, their loss to Arkansas State on Dec. 8 is proof that they can't take any game for granted if they wish to fulfill the objective that Hardaway is setting when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers' next four games feature No. 16 Clemson, Virginia, Mississippi State, and No. 19 Ole Miss. The first will be at the Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina, on Saturday at 11 a.m. ET.