It is no secret that Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James considers Michael Jordan as his favorite player ever. As a matter of fact, James even admitted that he nearly teared up while watching the first few episodes of The Last Dance documentary.
Recently though, LeBron took to his Instagram account to declare his second favorite player of all-time. As it turns out, it is none other than former Orlando Magic star Penny Hardaway.
LeBron posted on his Instagram story a throwback video of Hardaway dominating the competition. Along with the video, the Lakers forward wrote: “MY GOD!!! MY 2ND FAVORITE PLAYER OF ALL-TIME MAN! LITERALLY COULD WATCH HIM PLAY EVERY NIGHT!!”
Here's the video that LeBron reacted to:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_5Wo75AVfv/
Hardaway was an absolute beast during his prime, and it's a shame that his career was cut short due to injury. While he did play out his stint in the NBA up to the ripe age of 36, there is no denying that a career-changing knee injury robbed him of a number of years during his peak.
In the three years prior to his injury, the 6-foot-7 swingman averaged 21.1 points (on 49.4 percent shooting), 4.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.8 steals, while also connecting on 1.2 triples per contest. He played alongside Shaquille O'Neal (who later on joined the Lakers), and one of their greatest accomplishments include taking down Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1995 playoffs en route to a trip to the Finals.
The four-time All-Star remains to be one of the biggest what-if narratives of the NBA, and for his part, LeBron James appears to agree completely. The Lakers star is one of the greatest to ever play the sport, so this is an ultimate compliment to Penny Hardaway. Game definitely recognizes game.
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