My brain never stops thinking about basketball, and even when I'm asleep, I'm thinking about basketball. I love it; I love the Xs and Os and the preparation of it.
Penny Hardaway
I think what makes a really good shoe is something that you can play ball in but also something that you can wear off the court as well.
I was one of the best players in the NBA.
If I've learned anything, it's that you can't take anything for granted.
I'm so thankful and blessed for the Heat organization.
A lot of the kids gave a lot of positive feedback about if I ever became a coach, they would love to play in our program. And I was very confident that we would be able to get the top-tier players to come in.
When you accomplish certain levels of success in a number, you want that number to always be a part of you. In a way, you're bringing that success with you when you're wearing it.
I was an introvert.
I lived the dream. God blessed me to live the dream.
I didn't care about titles unless they were championship titles. I don't care about who the man is on the team.
I didn't do it the traditional way of being an assistant first and then becoming a head coach.
When Grant Hill came back to Orlando after having all of his surgeries, I was the first person to call him and congratulate him for making it back. It seemed like nobody cared about what I was dealing with.
I went from being very athletic, one of the best guards in the NBA, to barely making it. No speed, no agility. I had to change how I played because I couldn't exercise or train because my knee constantly hurt.
Mentally I was retired, and physically I was retired. I was playing recreational ball. But when the decision happened with Chris Bosh and LeBron, I felt like I could really be good in that system.
I made it real clear I wanted to play in Orlando. Part of it was Shaq. But I also just liked Orlando. It's not all glitzy and reminds me of Memphis.
My favorite sneaker is the Penny 1. The Penny 1 is an original, man, and I loved them from the beginning, and other people loved them, too. It was a comfortable shoe, and the Penny 1 was definitely my favorite to play in. The Penny II was a close second, though.
There's the hardest thing - when you cannot be as athletic or perform at a level you really want to. Your mind is telling you, but your body is not allowing you.
You wanted to compete against Michael Jordan, because they were the best. You wanted to beat them. Never once in my mind, I went, 'I would love to play with him.' I was always like, 'Man, we've got to beat them.'
The thing I really want to do is make the All-Star team and have an All-Star season. If I do that, then I know my team is going to be winning.
I'm so appreciative of Orlando. I am Orlando. Orlando made me. So when people link my name, they link my name to Orlando and nowhere else. I'll always be indebted to Orlando for that and grateful at the same time.
I have two people that I mainly look up to: Magic Johnson is one of them. He just blew everything out of the water. He didn't make much money in basketball, but since basketball has been over, he's investing in the community and making a lot of money at the same time. The next one I look up to is Sean Combs, who has always been a hustler.
Personally, I just want to stay healthy.
If I had stayed there, swallowed my pride, been able to save Orlando all over again, which is what they were trying to get me to do there, I'd be O.K. now.
It's fun coming back home, playing against the Grizzlies and to have the opportunity to come back and see my family.
People didn't want to accept that I was injured. I played on a bad knee, a really bad knee, for a long time. I actually put team before me and played when I was hurt, but people still would dog me.
I want to see the Memphis flags waving on the cars. I want to see the T-shirts going again, the hats going again like the old school days, and that's what we want to take it back to.
I was into 'In Living Color,' 'Martin,' the 'Ace Ventura' movies. I love slapstick stuff, too: 'Naked Gun' and 'Caddyshack.'
Talk about full circle, I never saw this coming. It wasn't like I said, 'Someday, I want to be the head coach at the University of Memphis.'
Of course you want people to notice you're back, and you're playing well just to be respected. Because I was an All-Star, a first-team All-NBA guy. But I don't need the media putting a spotlight on me.
It's just hard to watch isolation basketball.
Jerry Sloan was a guy that I always respected, but I thought he was mean. Like, he was a guy that was just no nonsense. When coach and I got closer during the Olympics, I said, 'Coach, I always just thought you were this mean guy, but it was really nice to get to know you and your family.'
I want to contribute in any fashion to a great team.
I wasn't able to explode, jump, run - not even walk without pain being in the back of my leg. Every time I bent my leg, even in a walking motion, I was wondering what was wrong with me. But I stuck with it.
That's my job as a veteran in the league - to help make the young guys better.
I wore No. 25 in college, so naturally when I arrived in Orlando, I wanted that number, but Nick Anderson had it. I decided to go with No. 1 because of my name, Penny.
My microfracture was handled like a routine arthroscopic surgery. They thought it was a 6-to-8 week deal. Now we know, from Amare Stoudemire to Kenyon Martin, that it's a longer deal.
Orlando is my history.
It's a huge honor to be put in the Hall of Fame... it's even better because I played there for six years, and I left on bad terms. To be able to come back and be recognized - in hindsight, I wish I would have stayed, because everyone understands my career was large in Orlando.
I want to leave a mark on society.
Basketball gave me an avenue to live my dream, and I just want to help other kids live their dreams through me.
I feel like I can play point guard for any team in the league and average a double-double.
I want to finish my career on a high note.
I was as popular as you can be - All-NBA, Olympian. You couldn't get any higher than where I was.
People think I'm soft and bailed out on basketball. But it was five knee surgeries.
I want the opportunity to play pain-free.
I just want to win.
With Shaq, you have to let him know that he's the man. You have to do that with him.
Injuries made people lose confidence in me, but I never lost confidence in myself.
I can scream and yell that I can still play, but unless I prove it, people will say, 'Yeah, Penny, whatever.'
I can pass on a lot of information. I'm just never going to be the 21-year-old Penny Hardaway again.
