Penny Hardaway wouldn’t have expected to form a rivalry with Michael Jordan. In fact, he would have never believed in sharing the court with MJ. Because when the Magic icon made his debut in the league, His Airness had already retired after the first three-peat with the Chicago Bulls. But the two would go on battle 21 times against each other, share a team in Hardaway’s third year, and share a moment that the 4x All-Star deems ultimate compliment.

Appearing on the Knuckleheads podcast, Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway recalled the instance where the 6x NBA champion pulled a prank on him. “I’m getting ready to be announced, and he started moving closer to me. I’m like ‘MJ, you know you going last bro. What you coming over here for like? Like you know I’m not going after you, so what you doing?’ I didn’t know what he was doing,” he recalls of the moment during the 1996 All-Star weekend when both were part of the Eastern Conference team.

Since the customary last announcement during introductions is saved for the best, Michael Jordan’s announcement would obviously be last. Aware of it himself, Hardaway knew something was wrong, but couldn’t have imagined the next thing that happened. “He just kept inching, inching like he was sitting closer, closer. I guess he had already told Scottie (Pippen) or somebody ‘I’m about to do the snap off’ or whatever. Bro, I walked out and he snapped them jawns, and I had to hold my pants.”

As soon as the Magic icon entered the court, Michael Jordan pulled on his training track pants. “”I look back. He’s just laughing like a mother fu–er,” Hardaway shared. What happened next was comical. As the pants ripped, Hardaway tried to hold on to them while waving crowd and dapping his teammates. “It was crazy, but I’m like, hey man, that was an ultimate compliment to me because that made me feel like you know that he was like he respected me and who I was.”

The next year, during the 1997 All-Star weekend, Hardaway joined Michael Jordan and pranked an Atlanta Hawks star. From going “Wow, that would be something else,” upon hearing the news about MJ’s possible return during his second year to earning in respect — emphasised twice — the now 53-year-old had quite the run with the 6-time champion.

How Penny Hardaway became the only solution for Michael Jordan’s problem

The concerns regarding the MLB strike in 1995 made him fear that he’d be called up to the Majors. Instead, the 5x MVP stated, “I’m back” via a press statement. This marked Jordan’s second run in the league, but it had an issue. Nike and Tinker Hatfield had designed a ‘shiny shoe’ with patent leather as per the Bulls legend’s wishes for his return. However, they were only samples during the season, warning MJ against wearing them. But he went ahead regardless, only to end up facing a fine for breaking Bulls’ colorway policy and being obliged to avoid it altogether.

While Nike worked on another colorway, MJ’s eyes fell on another Nike athlete’s signature shoes. “He called me kid, ‘Give me kids shoes’ like that’s what he called me, ‘kid, I’m gonna get these shoes right’. So he rocked them joints, and I was still sitting out there going ‘this man got my shoes on.” The kid was none other than Penny Hardaway, who fondly remembered the Bulls icon donning his shoes.

“Thought that was crazy cuz he’s never won another shoe outside of a Jordan.” The Magic icon had refused a $7 million offer from Converse and signed with the Swoosh brand. It seemed to have worked out well for the 4x All-Star.