The SLAM Archives: SLAM 8 Featuring Penny Hardaway, Michael Jordan From November of 1995

This story first appeared in SLAM 244.

The cover of SLAM 8 captured an iconic moment in time. Picture this: in March 1995—March 18, to be exact—Michael Jordan announced his highly anticipated comeback. A few days later, on March 24, he would step on to the court at a sold-out United Center with Air Jordan Xs on his feet and 45 on his back to face a young and swaggy Orlando Magic squad. These were hallowed moments.

Orlando’s Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was unfazed. It was just his second season in the NBA, but he had already established himself as a superstar. Forget the “what ifs” for a moment—Penny was one of the most exciting players we’d seen. He was a Magic Johnson remix. You could’ve compiled a top-10 highlight reel for every game he played. He already had a signature shoe and one of the dopest ad campaigns of all time to match (a campaign that this very cover would later appear in). Let me explain it this way: when my closest friend, Neil Stansbie, copped the black pinstripe Hardaway Magic jersey that spring, I asked no questions. Not one. It was a no brainer.

The Bulls won this matchup, but as I said, the image on the cover of SLAM 8 captured something significant. It was MJ in the frame, but instead of denting somebody’s ego, he was on the other end of things. At that moment, Penny had us wondering if Mike was regretting turning his back on those batting cages in Birmingham. A student was getting the better of a basketball master.

Recent interactions have demonstrated that you should avoid talking smack to the greats, but there’s still something in us as basketball fans that loves to see a young dude giving an OG a run for his money. Ultimately, for Anfernee Hardaway, it didn’t turn out great in terms of ever surpassing the exploits of MJ—and there were reasons for that. For me, though, this moment will always represent what should’ve been had the basketball gods been kinder to Penny. There’s so much that we’ll never know, but I do know this: These young dudes need to keep the OGs on their toes, never back down and not be afraid to put a legend on a poster. Or, if you’re truly special, a SLAM cover.