ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orlando Magic announced Monday they will honor four-time All-Star guard Penny Hardaway at their Feb. 21 home game against the New York Knicks.
Hardaway is most commonly associated with the team that captured the 1995 Eastern Conference championship. He averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds in his second season, when Orlando went 57-25 during the regular season and defeated Indiana in seven games in the conference finals to earn the franchise's first trip to the NBA Finals.
The Magic advanced to the playoffs five times during Hardaway's six years with them, and his back-to-back games of more than 40 points against the Miami Heat in the first round of the 1997 playoffs was named one of the 25 top moments in the team's 25-year history.
Hardaway was acquired by the Magic the night of the 1993 NBA draft in a trade with the Golden State Warriors and remained until being traded to the Phoenix Suns in the summer of 1999. He's seventh on the Magicâs all-time list in points scored with 7,018 and also ranks in the top 10 in steals (third), assists (fourth), field goals made (sixth), minutes played (seventh), rebounds (ninth) and blocked shots (ninth).
He will be featured in a center-court presentation at the end of the first quarter of the Magic's first home game after the All-Star break. Hardaway will then join FOX Sports Florida's Magic broadcast team of David Steele and Jeff Turner for a portion of the telecast.
Previous members of the 1994-95 who have been honored this season include Turner, Nick Anderson, Dennis Scott and Horace Grant. Shaquille O'Neal and Darrell Armstrong are expected to be added to that list before the end of the season.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
