Seek a story about the legendary mission of NBA.

In the night sky of NBA, there is never a shortage of bright stars. Every star has his own story, either brilliant or sad. Anfernee Hardaway, how beautiful is this name? But now it has long been mediocre, and it is easy for people to forget it. God generously gave him unparalleled talent, but at the peak of his life, he took away his knees and even his future. Nevertheless, Hardaway never gave up hope, because his efforts and determination supported him as always.

One: beautiful boy next to my grandmother

1972 July 18, a baby boy was born in an ordinary small hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. His mother, Fae, wanted to name this little guy Anthony, but the doctor mistook Anthony for Anfenny, so anfernee deon hardaway came into this world. Hardaway's family, like most African-American families, is in the middle and lower classes of society and has a very hard life. His father Eddie Golden left home when he was very young, and his mother went to California to pursue her dream of becoming a singer when he was only 6 years old. Only in summer can he come back to visit his son, so young Hardaway can only live alone in a single room in the slums of Memphis with his grandmother Louise. At the age of 9, Hardaway got the most expensive gift of his life. It was an old wire folding bed, but it was the first time that he had a bed of his own.

Although life is extremely difficult, Louise still loves her only grandson very much and often proudly calls him beautiful. However, because the old man has a strong southern accent and sounds like Penny, the name Penny has spread among the neighbors. Poverty in life does not mean indulgence in life. Louise has never relaxed Penny's discipline: whether she goes to school or has a holiday, she goes to bed early and gets up early; No matter how much homework you have, you should finish it before watching TV. Do not fight; Don't stay overnight; Go to church every Saturday; When Penny was admitted to Treadwell High School, Louise's grandmother even went to her grandson's school as a cook and accompanied Penny to and from school by bus every day. Under such discipline, young Penny always complains that she doesn't have the same freedom as her peers. But now, looking back on what grandma has done for herself, Penny can only be grateful. "She is the love of my life!" Penny said emotionally. "If it weren't for my grandmother, I would have been addicted to drugs and become hopeless!"

Penny grows taller and taller day by day. Like many African-American children, she also realized that only professional sports can completely get rid of poverty. For herself and for loving her grandmother, Penny picked up the basketball and walked to the stadium, the only place in the slum that was far away from drugs and violence. Hard life has created Penny's persistent character. He practiced hard on the court, and with his extraordinary talent, the name Penny soon became the loudest name on that small court. But an accidental accident almost ruined his basketball career. In a local hooligan fight, Penny who happened to pass by was hit in the leg by shrapnel from a pistol. Penny thought her basketball career was over, but fortunately it was just a false alarm. After leaving the hospital, Penny immediately returned to the basketball court alive and kicking.

Memphis, Tennessee is not as glamorous as new york, Chicago and other big cities. Life there has created the indomitable character of Memphis people and the tenacious style of Memphis basketball. Louise's grandmother often tells Penny, "Everything depends on yourself, not others." Although Penny is naturally reticent, she also has the strength of Memphis. Through unremitting efforts, she became the king of the Tredwell High School basketball team. When Penny graduated from Treadwell High School with 1990, he not only left his alma mater with a school score of 3039 points, but also left himself an honor. Average 36.6 points per game 10. 1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.8 blocks. The "Almighty King" was born! _

Penny's academic performance plummeted because she put too much energy into the basketball court. After graduating from high school, he took four exams and barely entered Memphis State University (now renamed Memphis University). The school deprived him of the right to play for the school team in the first year because of his poor learning foundation and failing to meet the standards in the exam. Every time I think back on this past, Penny always says, "It's like a hard slap in the face!" " In this way, Penny began to wait for the new season in hard training and study.

9 1-92 season arrived as scheduled. With all-round performance, Penny not only won the Best Newcomer in the Division and the Best Player of the Year, but also was selected as the sparring opponent of the "Dream Team" by the American Basketball Association. It was the first time that Penny met superstars whom she could only worship on TV: Magic Johnson, larry bird and, of course, Michael Jordan, which made him realize for the first time that he was not far from the NBA. In the first game between the two sides, the boys of the development team unexpectedly defeated the super "dream team". "When I hit Hardaway, I felt I was dealing with myself in the mirror. I am not an impressionable person, but he really impressed me! " Magic Johnson said with relief when he mentioned Penny. "His scoring ability is stronger than mine, and he is more suitable to be Michael Jordan's successor!" Jordan once said, "If I have to choose a successor, Hardaway will be my first choice!"

1992-93 After the season ended, Penny, wearing No.25 jersey, averaged 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 2.5 steals 1.3 blocks. The score of 729 points became the highest score in a single season in the history of the school, which made Penny plan her future. He remembered his grandmother's teaching and decided his future, so he chose to participate in the NBA draft of 1993 and hoped that he could be selected by the Orlando Magic.

The draft of 1993 is the most dramatic in NBA draft history (only the draft of 200 1 can be compared with it later). Of the 1 1 teams that missed the playoffs last season, the best magic team had only 1/66 chance of winning the No.1 pick, but it was lucky. Just a year ago, the Magic chose Penny's teammate shaquille o'neal as the development team. In the 1980s, Jabbar and Magic Johnson ruled the Lakers. Penny hoped that she and O 'Neill could write a new legend for Orlando.

Penny took the initiative to contact the Magic for trial training and gave the team a life-size portrait, but he was told that the Magic would select chris webber, a star striker from Michigan, with the draft pick of 1 in the first round. How can Penny in Memphis compare with Webber who helped the team reach the NCAA finals for two years in a row? Orlando fans are also looking forward to the super combination of O 'Neal and Webber. However, the Golden State Warriors, who had the third pick at that time, desperately wanted Webber, so they reached a deal with Magic on the day of the draft, and Webber and Penny exchanged blocked shots. Orlando fans are extremely dissatisfied with this. As soon as the deal was announced, they shouted, "We want Webber! We want Webber! " However, these people don't know what glory a penny will bring to their city!

After signing with Magic, Penny didn't spend money and buy a car on herself like other young millionaires. The first thing he did was to buy a 4-acre house for his grandmother in Memphis to express his gratitude for her years of parenting. Since then, Penny's first food advertisement has also urged her to star with her grandmother! Under the influence of her hard childhood, Penny took an active part in various charitable activities and helped those in need in her own way, just as her grandmother warned her.

Four: standing behind the "big shark"

With the addition of Penny, the magic lineup has been further improved. 1993-94 season, Magic entered the playoffs for the first time with 50 wins and 32 losses. O' Neill made a big splash this season, not only destroying two rebounds in the regular season, but also being selected as the third NBA team that year. If Admiral david robinson hadn't snatched 7 1 point from the Clippers in the last game of the regular season, O 'Neill could have become the new scoring champion after Jordan with an average of 29.3 points per game. Penny, who has always been low-key, silently handed over the transcript of averaging 16 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 2.3 steals after O 'Neill. Although Penny lost to Webber by a narrow margin in the competition for the best newcomer, the MVP trophy in the rookie game is somewhat a comfort. In the playoffs, the inexperienced Magic lost 3-0 to the Pacers who pushed them out of the playoffs last season. However, for Penny, this is undoubtedly a successful stage.

Summer has come, and the thriving magic team has become the home that free players yearn for. Horace Grant Cobra did not hesitate to come to this new home, regardless of the economic loss of $3 million. In order to cultivate Penny's organizational ability, the team sent veteran point guard Scott Skiles to the Washington Bullets. A year later, skeels, the record holder of single assists in the league, chose to retire and leave the league. Of course, skeels got back together with Penny at 200 1, but only as the head coach of Penny's Suns, that's another story. Not only that, coach Brian Hill hired Brian Shaw, the Heat's god pitcher, as a substitute for Penny in a super-long limousine. Penny, on the other hand, took a break this holiday and took part in the shooting of blue chips with teammate O 'Neill. But to Penny's delight, his alma mater also held a retirement ceremony for him, hanging his No.25 jersey high above the arena.

The magic team with an unprecedented strong lineup became a nightmare for all opponents in the 94-95 season. They are almost unbeaten at home, winning 39 of 465,438+0 games. Magic was in full swing and finally broke into the playoffs again with a score of 57 wins and 25 losses. This time, O 'Neill finally got his wish and became the "scoring king" and merged into the second team of NBA. But people gradually found that even O 'Neill's huge body could not hide the light of the man behind him, which was the light of Ani Hardaway! Penny hit an amazing 5 1. 1% shooting percentage, and was selected as an all-star for the first time with an all-round performance averaging 20.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists, replacing Jordan, who had already pursued his baseball dream, into the NBA's best team.

In the playoffs, magic is unstoppable. 3- 1 eliminated the Celtics, and 4-2 prevented Jordan and his bulls from returning to the Eastern Conference semifinals. In this series, nelison anderson said: "45 is not as good as 23!" Forcing Jordan to change back to No.23, who has hung up the United center, also created a story in the NBA. In the Eastern Conference finals, Magic defeated the old enemy Pacers 4-3. Only five years after the team was founded, Magic entered the finals! But although the rockets in the west are not optimistic, they are experienced after all. In the first final, nelison anderson missed a penalty at the last minute, but kenny smith of the Rockets scored the sixth three-pointer. Magic finally lost in overtime. Under one blow, the young magic team suddenly lost its head and was finally shaved by the rocket. Rockets coach rudy tomjanovich told people after the game: "Never underestimate the heart of a champion!" Penny took this sentence to heart.

1995-96 season, Penny won another peak of her basketball career. Shaq accidentally broke his finger in the preseason warm-up match and was unable to play for six weeks. For the team, this is undoubtedly a huge loss, but for Penny, this is just an opportunity. Because there are always some skeptics who think Penny can do something, but only because of Shaq's protection. Penny didn't disappoint his supporters. In the first month, he broke through his original role, averaging 27.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists, beating Jordan and winning his first player of the month title. Not only that, Penny also led the team to achieve 13 wins and 2 losses in that month, which proved the shallowness of the skeptics with facts.

Shooting percentage is 5 1.3%, averaging 2 1.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7. 1 assists and 2.02 steals. Penny and Jordan were selected for the All-Star starting lineup together. In the All-Star Game, I really appreciated Penny's "Flying Man" and played a little joke on him. "Flying man" secretly pulled Penny's pants when the players lined up, leaving a relaxed and humorous scene for the All-Star Game that year. In the end, Penny thanked the people of San Antonio for their support with 18 points and 7 assists. It is worth mentioning that "Flying Man" also invited Penny to come to Chicago to train with him in the summer after the game, and the latter accepted his life gladly.

However, Jordan and his bull are the protagonists of this season. They rushed into the playoffs with an unprecedented 72 wins 10 losses, and even magic could not stop Jordan's revenge. Although Penny averaged 28.3 points, 6.0 assists and 4.7 rebounds 1.7 steals in the playoffs, it still failed to avoid the fate that Magic was swept out by the Bulls 4-0 in the Eastern Conference finals. The morale of the bull with a shot of revenge is high. In the final, seattle supersonics, led by Peyton and Kemp, easily defeated 4-2 and successfully reached the top. Although he lost to Jordan in the Eastern Conference finals, considering that Jordan won the MVP trophy three times in the All-Star Game, the regular season and the finals, not to mention being selected as the best team with Jordan, it is not ugly for Penny to lose.

Although frustrated on the court, Penny got a chance to beat Jordan on another battlefield. Penny's star card appreciated wildly, and Upper Deck also launched a global limited edition Penny metal laser card in due course. Orlando Magic's 1 jersey has become the best-selling product, as conspicuous as Bull's No.23. Although it is extremely popular, Penny still can't change her taciturn character, but smart businessmen won't give up any chance to make money! NIKE took Penny's reticence as a selling point, and created a puppet, Lil' Penny, wearing the Magic Team 1/2 jersey. However, unlike Penny, Lil' Penny is a talkative and funny little guy, and NIKE hopes that he can communicate with the public instead of Penny. The advertisement shot by "Penny Brothers" is very popular and has won unprecedented praise. The cute little puppet Lil' Penny is even more anti-customer, and her popularity is even worse than Penny's! Nike launched Air Penny series basketball shoes while the iron was hot, which was snapped up by fans as soon as it went on the market and became the best-selling basketball shoes after Air Jordan series.

Six: Say goodbye to Shaq.

The summer of' 96 was like a dream for Penny. Penny is very excited at the thought of training with Jordan and playing golf together! More importantly, he received an invitation from the American Basketball Association and became a member of "Dream Team 3" with Shaq. Penny is duty-bound to serve the motherland! But what Penny didn't know at the time was that this was the last time he and Shaq played together as teammates. ...

"We can only give you this price!" Magic officials told Shaq. "We don't want to upset Penny." For O 'Neill, it doesn't matter that there are not enough tickets for friends and relatives, there is no private garage, and even it doesn't matter that he pays the difference between the away suite and the ordinary room out of his own pocket, but this sentence from the top deeply hurts the sensitive Shaq, and he will never allow people to despise him!

On July 18, Penny, who is going back to Memphis, stopped by Shaq's house. After dinner, O 'Neill told Penny that he would sign a seven-year contract with the Lakers worth 1.5438+0 billion dollars, which was a gift from O 'Neill to Penny for his 24th birthday. The Lakers promised to provide O 'Neal with 35 tickets per game, and they could stay in the best luxury suite for free away from home. Magic Johnson also promised to give him his private garage in the arena! All this doesn't seem to be a great benefit, but Shaq got respect from the Lakers that he didn't get in Magic.

"I was really at a loss and didn't want to talk to anyone for a long time." Penny recalled the scene. It was not until a few days after her birthday that Penny was in the mood to hold a birthday party at her home in Memphis, but all he could think about was the Olympic Games. He knew that this would be the last time he and Shaq became teammates, and he wanted to get an Olympic gold medal as a memory for him and Shaq.

"Dream Team 3" stars shine, and young Penny can only play as a substitute, but this can't hide Penny's light. He can play three positions in the game, from point guard to small forward. Not only did he score like a bag, but he also passed the ball wonderfully. Penny let the world know his name with her neat dunk and incredible breakthrough. Standing on the podium, Penny's proud eyes seem to announce his infinite future to the world!

Seven: the first attack of injury

Although Shaq has gone to Los Angeles, his life has to go on. Magic hastily signed Lebanese center rony seikaly and old center Danny Shayes, who always wore a mask. Together with Grant in the forward position and Derek Strong, a new young striker, the Magic's new insider is formed. In addition, the original perimeter has not changed much. Penny is full of confidence in the new season. He kept a low profile and even sent a message to the media: "I want to be the new scoring champion!"

However, everything is not as smooth as Penny expected. 1June 1996 1 14 In the game against the Hornets, Penny who scored 14 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists suddenly felt pain in her left knee. After being examined by team doctor Jim barnett, she was diagnosed with cartilage damage in her left knee and needed surgery. The operation will be carried out in 3 days, and Penny needs at least 4 weeks' rest after the operation. However, after only 20 days, the team asked Penny, who had not recovered from his knee injury, to play on the grounds of the team's poor performance. As a result, after only one game, Penny injured her left knee again and had to rest for another three weeks. 1June 6, 997, Penny came back again, but the pain of tendinitis in her left knee accompanied her all season.

Although the injury made Penny's scoring champion declaration a joke, he was selected into the third team of NBA by averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists 1.58, and once again sent the Magic to the playoffs. Magic met the Heat led by alonzo mourning and tim hardaway in the first round. Due to the gap in the inside strength, the Heat quickly gained a 2-0 lead, so Magic coach Brian Hill had to temporarily change the formation, and discharged the three-guard formation of darrell armstrong, nelison anderson and Penny, so as to free Penny from the heavy organization and devote himself to the attack. Penny really didn't disappoint. After scoring 42 points in the third game, she scored 4 1 in the fourth game, which turned the game that should have been one-sided into 2-2! In the fifth game, Penny scored 33 points again, but the strength of one person was limited after all. The Magic finally lost to the well-staffed Heat and was eliminated. But this is undoubtedly Penny's best playoff, averaging 3 1.0 points per game, only 0. 1 point behind Michael Jordan.

After the 96-97 season, head coach Brian Hill was fired by the team in the summer. The media blamed Penny for Hill's departure, because there was news of their disagreement in the middle of the season. Penny has always strongly opposed this statement, but he did call a meeting of players who decided to get rid of Hill. The team immediately hired chuck daley, the champion coach of the original Pistons. Penny's super performance in the playoffs made people full of illusions about the magic of the new season.

Eight: Heroic shortness of breath

Everyone thought that Penny would have an explosive performance in the new season, but no one expected that the injury once again found this young genius. Because her left knee has been uncomfortable, she clashed with new coach Daley in the game against Pistons. Penny decided to enter the disabled list and go to Houston for the second operation on her left knee. 1June 6, 997+February 6+July 6, a famous doctor in Houston, Walter R. Lowe, had the operation. After the operation, Penny rested until June 65438+1October 29th of the following year. In the first game of Penny's comeback, he led the team to a 95-88 victory over the Rockets, 1 1 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. However, because it was an all-star voting activity at that time, Penny's comeback attracted many people's criticism. Many people think that he is only for the All-Star name, and there are many peers like tim hardaway. However, Penny was finally selected into the All-Star starting lineup by enthusiastic fans. In Madison Square Garden, new york, he thanked the audience in new york with 6 points and 3 assists in just 12 minutes.

Because Penny was good at advocating during her recovery, she stayed in Houston for recovery training instead of playing with the team as usual, which caused the dissatisfaction of coach chuck daley. Especially after the All-Star Game, Penny, who felt that her left knee injury had recurred, held a press conference without authorization, saying that she would miss the rest of the game, which made chuck daley even more dissatisfied with him. In the meantime, there are even rumors that Penny will be sent to the Suns because of disagreement with the coach. /kloc-February 0/9 has passed, and the rumors about the transaction are broken. Penny also held a press conference the next day to express her heartfelt thanks to the magic. "I didn't say anything before, not because I didn't want to continue playing here, but because once I was traded, it was useless to say anything before!" Penny told reporters at the meeting. "Everything is fine now. I am still a member of the team, so I want to tell you that I love this team and I have no contradiction with the coach. From the moment Shaq left, I knew what kind of responsibility I shouldered, and I would not sit idly by and watch our team sink. ...

Penny's words let magic fans put down their hearts hanging in the air. He told the fans that he would recover well and win more games for the team in the new season. However, because Penny only played 19 games this season, the Magic failed to enter the playoffs without him and ended the 97-98 season ahead of schedule. Not only that, but Penny's personal performance was also hit hard. 37.7% of her shooting percentage fell to the lowest point in her career, averaging 16.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists, which was no advantage compared with her rookie season.

Nine: Farewell to Orlando IT 168 Nokia Forum R

Due to the labor dispute in the summer of 1998, the NBA entered a major lockout. The long vacation has made many talented players neglect exercise. The example of two super forwards, Vin Baker and shawn kemp, destroying the Great Wall is still embarrassing. Penny, on the other hand, is running around this summer, looking for his own state, actively participating in various competitions and preparing for the new season, which is also the last year of his contract.

Magic not only changed their uniforms this summer, but also accelerated the pace of recruiting. They first chose michael doleac, the white center of the University of Utah, and matt harpring, the white small forward of Georgia Tech, with their No.1 12 draft pick, in the No.5 draft pick. The former has a good figure and excellent hand feeling in the middle distance, while the latter not only shoots accurately, but also plays hard and hard. In Freeman Market, Magic also successfully found center Isaac Austin who performed well last season from Clippers. Not only that, Magic also recruited veterans dominique wilkins and B.J. Armstrong in the middle of the season, which played a role in stabilizing the morale of the army.

Neat staffing, coupled with the wise command of coach Daley, Magic rushed into the playoffs with the third place in the East. The rookie shared Penny's scoring pressure well, allowing him to devote more energy to defense and organization. But he still leads the team with 15.8 points per game, and ranks sixth in the league with 2.02 steals and 5.7 rebounds per game, which is the most since he entered the league. That season, he and jason kidd of the Suns were the only two players in the league who averaged more than 15, more than five rebounds, more than five assists and more than two steals.

Daley is also quite satisfied with Penny this season: "He sacrificed a lot of personal interests for the team, which is very rare. What's even more rare is that he made his teammates play better! " Darrell armstrong, who just won the Best Sixth Man trophy, agreed with the head coach: "It's so comfortable to play with Penny. He is omnipotent and always puts the team first. He made us play better! "

However, in the playoffs, something unpleasant happened to Magic. Because of Armstrong's strong play, Penny hopes that the team can use Armstrong as the starting point guard, replace Anderson as the attack guard, and replace rookie Chaplin as the small forward, so as to release their scoring ability in the playoffs like 1997! Stubborn Dali wants to play according to his own tactics, and Anderson refuses to be a small forward because he is not tall enough. All this makes Penny very uncomfortable.

In the first round of the playoffs, Magic met the Philadelphia 76ers led by Allen Iverson. Although Penny averaged 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game, Iverson dominated the game and was widely regarded as the final defeat of Magic. People put all the blame for the failure on Penny. As the core of the team, he is willing to take responsibility. However, all summer, he was faced with such vicious remarks. What fans care about is not whether he will renew his contract with Magic, but who he can exchange with. Penny's heart was deeply hurt, and he knew that the city had no nostalgia for him.

The flight to Memphis has taken off, Orlando is getting farther and farther away, and Penny is listening to music and thinking about her future. Back to Orlando? No, forget it, I don't belong there anymore, he told himself. ...

Unlike the indifference of magic, the sun, which has been coveted by Hardaway for a long time, frequently shows kindness to Penny. Actually, Penny couldn't make up her mind at that time, but when she received the gift from the Suns, she was sure that Phoenix would be her next stop! This is not an expensive gift, but a set of golf clubs and a CD. But every club is carefully embroidered with Penny's logo, and he is not willing to use that set of clubs until now. And when he played the long CD, he smiled happily. In the picture, Jason Kidd grabbed the rebound and rushed to the frontcourt. He threw the ball to the basket, and a guy in Sun 1 jersey got up from the ground and smashed the ball into the basket with both hands! That's him, Anfernee Hardaway! Then the phone rang, and a voice inside said, "Hey, Penny, it's Jason. Did you get the gift? I am waiting for the air relay with you in the center of the western United States! "

1On August 5th, 999, Magic announced that it had signed a seven-year contract with Penny worth 86.68 million yuan, and then sent him to the Suns in exchange for forwards danny manning and Pat Garrity and two future first-round draft picks. At the press conference in Phoenix, Penny showed people a new tattoo on his left arm, which read: Part II Heaven Cent. This means that you will be reborn in the sun.

The Suns already have center Luc Longley, power forward Tom Gugliotta, small forward clifford robinson and point guard jason kidd, plus Anfernee Hardaway, the starting lineup of the Suns is already very scary. Together with double forwards rodney rogers, rookie shawn marion, shooters Rex Champman and Todd Day, and chubby center oliver miller, who arrived in Phoenix one day earlier than Penny, the Suns have become one of the most powerful contenders for the league championship. Penny also expressed her good wish to win a championship for the city with Kidd at the press conference. People call Penny and Kidd, who can score 30 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists together, super backcourt, and because of the coming new century, people also call them backcourt 2000 in due course.

Eleven: Pain and happiness.

Penny, who successfully got rid of his knee injury, is very happy in Phoenix. Although she was suspended from the league for the first time in her life because of a conflict with Heat white guard Rex Walters in the preseason, she has never played so easily since Shaq left. The Suns have a scorer. Penny doesn't have to face her opponent's double-team every game. Kidd is also a selfless player and never cares about the time of holding the ball. Penny does whatever she wants on the court, and she does well at both ends of the court.

In April 18 against the Rockets, Penny scored 20 points 10 rebounds 12 assists, and staged an amazing scene in the home game against the 76ers! At that time, Iverson succeeded in stealing on the right side of the midfield and then flew to the front three-point line. At this time, Penny, the closest to Iverson, was still near the left side of the midfield, and Iverson quickly squeezed into the basket for a layup. However, Iverson, who was known as the fastest player in the NBA at that time, never expected that his layup was fanned by Penny who came from the midfield! Both of them landed at the same time, and the ball flew straight to the right sideline of the court. Without a moment's hesitation, Penny got up and ran after her. Rodman flew out of the touchline and handed the ball to center oliver miller with his left hand, leaving Iverson standing there alone with a surprised face. The western center of the United States is boiling, and Penny avenged the 99 playoffs.