http://grantland.com/1990s-orlando-magic-oral-history/

(The intro paragraphs)

They were destined for greatness. Back in the mid-1990s, you couldn’t imagine a more promising basketball pairing than the Orlando Magic’s Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. O’Neal was powerful and agile, plus swift and skillful in a way that hadn’t been seen in a 7-footer since Wilt Chamberlain (and hasn’t been seen since O’Neal retired). Hardaway was seen as the rightful heir to Magic Johnson — a tall, transcendent point guard who would headline the new generation of NBA superstars. If you wanted to build an ideal basketball team, you would start with a center and a point guard. If you wanted to build the perfect team, you would start with O’Neal and Hardaway. The Magic, only a few years removed from their lowly expansion-team origins, skyrocketed to fame with their abundant talent and black-and-white pinstripes. O’Neal and Hardaway were surrounded by capable role players like Dennis Scott, Brian Shaw, Nick Anderson, and Horace Grant. Together, they seemed poised to become the NBA’s next dynasty.

Perhaps no NBA team has ever featured two players more marketable than O’Neal and Hardaway. The two filmed Blue Chips together and became dueling campaign faces for Nike and Reebok. O’Neal had his wide smile and an outsize personality to match his towering physique. Hardaway was more reserved, but possessed that unforgettable nickname and a Chris Rock–voiced alter ego to talk trash for him. The possibilities seemed endless, as if the championship rings and parades would be a formality.
And then it ended. The Magic’s competitive window slammed shut faster than anyone imagined, thanks to O’Neal’s unexpected departure to Los Angeles, the firing of Magic coach Brian Hill, and the decline of Hardaway’s game thanks to knee injuries. It took years for the franchise to build another competitive team, and even though the Dwight Howard–led Magic reached the NBA Finals in 2009, the pride mixed with disappointment from 1995 and ’96 remained strong.

The Shaq and Penny Magic are in an unfortunate class similar to the ’70s Blazers, ’80s Rockets, or 2000s Kings — a story of unfulfilled potential and a dynasty that never was. “We were just having so much fun playing the game,” Scott said. “We weren’t really thinking about making history or understanding how good we really could be. All that stuff was happening so fast.”
Penny and Shaq. Shaq and Penny. For a brief time — they played only three seasons together — most of the NBA believed no one could stop them. Everyone quoted in this piece is identified by the positions they played or jobs they had during the mid-1990s. Phil Jackson declined interviews for this oral history.

i saw the OP and was like 1990? what's this about, the struggles of scott skiles? foh

I was thinking "I just read a long piece on the shitty expansion Caps and saw a documentary on the Bucs 0-14 team. I'm good"


This sounds great, bookmarked. Blue Chips. The Dennis Scott meltdown in front of all those kids. I really hope that is in here.

thinking "they are really talking about the 1990 Orlando Magic in here"?

>i saw the OP and was like 1990? what's this about, the
>struggles of scott skiles? foh

I guess it *could* be interesting...

I was 8. When Pat Williams announced the Webber for Penny trade there was nearly a riot. Prolly the most vitriol I've ever felt in person.

I remember being angry about it myself, but mostly cause I didn't know what Hardaway would become (never watched him when he was on Memphis)

and my dad's mom was there, who's from Memphis...so ALL she knew was Penny. When they got him, she was hype, and I figured everyone else was too.

I was a HUGE Magic/Shaq/Penny fan during their peak. Was like 12 when Shaq left and was DEVASTATED. Hated him for years afterward. Literally took me til like 2007 to get over it.

Still a huge Penny fan to this day. He could've been a top 10 guy had he stayed healthy and had a little more killer instinct. Always felt that his injuries were worse because he just didn't have that trash-talk type attitude needed in that era of the NBA. But still. In his prime he was so fucking fun to watch.

I loved that starting 5.

Penny
Nick
Dennis
Horce
Shaq

They could've done big things for years had Orlando not fucked up Shaq's contract. I'm sure there's a little revisionist history going on on Shaq's side of things to make it seem more like he had no choice in the matter but the truth is probably somewhere in the middle of both stories, meaning they should've fucking got it done. Had they paid him what he was "worth"(according to that era of NBA ridiculousness in contracts) they would've been dominant through the early 00s I think.

Penny dunking on Ewing was the best play ever. I vividly remember where I was watching that and I went apeshit.

Shaq tearing down hoops was so fun.

Man I loved that squad. Could gush for hours but I got work to do haha.

in the Summer of 93, probably onto TE in 94.

Also top 2 Starter jackets for years. I had the Magic one, of course, but the Hornets one was probably more popular since chicks would buy it due to the colors.