Anfernee Hardaway was one of the most iconic NBA players of the mid-90s'. Penny joined Shaquille O'Neal in Orlando, and the young tandem immediately turned the Magic into title contenders.
While they were successful on the basketball court, Shaq and Penny also dominated the NBA shoe market. O'Neal became Reebok's endorser, while Hardaway emerged as the potential successor of Michael Jordan, Nike's top shoe endorser.
But as fate would have it, injuries ruined Penny's career. Because of that, Nike abruptly ended its insanely famous shoe line and offered to keep him in their fold via MJ's Jordan Brand . The proud Hardaway refused to do so.
"Well, what happened was, when I went to Phoenix, they were trying to put me onto the Jordan Brand. I said, 'I don't want to be on the Jordan Brand if I just had my own shoe,'" said Hardaway in an interview with shoe expert Nick De Paula .
Four signature shoes and the Foamposite
For a while during the '90s, it looked like Penny would replace Mike as Nike's top shoe salesman. Because of that, The Swoosh Brand cashed in on his popularity by giving him the Air Penny shoe line in 1995.
Overall, Nike made four signature sneakers for Hardaway under the Air Penny series. Hardaway also famously 'stole' the Nike Air Foamposite from Scottie Pippen , making it one of the most iconic basketball shoes ever.
"They brought a lot of different sneakers. You know, they usually have these makeups, and I saw the sneaker in there, and I was like, 'What is this?' and he was like, 'This is a Foamposite.' 'Oh, this is dope; I would rock this.' They like, 'You serious?' I was like, 'Yes,' and the rest is history," said Penny.
Nike just told him the guys who made his shoe were gone
After three straight injury-marred seasons, the Magic decided to move on from Hardaway. The organization traded him to the Phoenix Suns right after the Penny IV had just been released. That turned out to be Hardaway's last signature shoe—just like Orlando, Nike decided they were going to move on from him.
"They were saying that the guys that were working on the Air Penny line had [moved to different divisions] and that they needed to go in a different direction, and I didn't want to take another direction at all – especially to Jordan Brand, which was no disrespect to Michael, but my shoes were rivaling his! I was hurt, but that's the business of it, and I understood and knew that wouldn't hurt our relationship or respect," he said.
Hardaway still finished his NBA career wearing Nike sneakers. However, he opted for the non-signature shoes. Because they were player exclusives, the ones that Penny wore had his one-cent logo.
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