On the night the Orlando Magic retired Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal’s jersey number and hung it in the rafters, former Magic point guard and current University of Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway gave a touching tribute to his former teammate.
The duo played together for three seasons with Orlando in the 1990s.
“Big fella, my brother,” Hardaway began. “First off, man, I want to congratulate you tonight. It’s definitely deserving. But I want to go even further, not to only champion you, but the father you are, and the son that you are to your family right there,” Hardaway continued.
After praising the person O’Neal is off the floor, it didn’t take long for Hardaway to discuss how good O’Neal made him on the floor.
“You made me great, watching you become great,” Hardaway said. “There’s no way I’m making first-team All-NBA, there’s no way I make an All-Star team, there’s no way I win a gold medal at the ’96 Olympics with you, without having you be there to thrust me and keep driving me to the next level. So I owe my entire career to having you in my life.”