Penny Hardaway VS Kobe Bryant Face-off March 23rd 1997

[@__N7]

Arfernee was unguardable. They couldn’t guard because of his speed and the blocks wouldn’t work because of his insanely agile maneuverability

[@Cannon4545]

Not to mention his crazy length for a guard

[@Bruhda1]

He was super bouncy super athletic and long he was just too good💪🏾

[@mildred1217]

Penny was the most talented player in the nba history. Without injuries, I put him over Lebron, kobe, Grant and Tmac. He was a magical player who could score like MJ and pass like Magic. Maybe we should ask Shaq who played with Lebron, Kobe and Penny.

[@aaronflowers8881]

I love when people give Penny his props.

[@Xenon-h9z]

"Most talented player in NBA history" is a real stretch... he never even hit his prime. But without injuries, yeah, he's over Kobe for sure, possibly over an uninjured Grant, Tmac, and probably Lebron.

[@Dwayne-i9f]

Fact's

[@Bruhda1]

​@@Xenon-h9zbig facts

[@Bruhda1]

@@Xenon-h9z Big facts ☝🏾

[@brianschultz2787]

Penny was amazing

[@danltm]

Another sad case of injury disrupting a beautiful career

[@rayutwenty-four6753]

When everybody wanted to be like Mike, Mike wanted to be like Penny during that time.

[@NotAnAstronaut2k]

Stop that bs lol

[@joshlynn3185]

mike at 33 with 3 rings at the time wants to a 25 y/o Penny with 0 rings ever. Yea they thought Penny would pass MJ and win and start a dynasty… they thought Lebron would do that too 😂😂😂😂

[@TROYBALLER]

No, you are wrong, MJ was MJ. But Penny Hardaway was extremely talented, probably would off been top 15 ALL time pre-injury. But Penny was finished after 3 seasons because of his knees ,and failed surgery,s

[@jamesperez6785]

I guess penny was a lot stronger than he gets credit for. @1:38 you can see him posting up PF corey blount (6'9 ~220-240lbs). i still don't understand how it's possible lol

[@carlwallace1129]

Penny had a lethal midpost game. He started getting stronger after his rookie season he added on weight to absorb that contact

[@awakethemaster]

He was supposed to added muscle and not just only weight as David Robinson or MJ. Doing that on time, before his injury, would let him to less change of an injury. Muscle protect the structural body

[@MrGeesco32]

Penny was so cold!! He could do it all.

[@emmethawe349]

Penny came in to the league at an Elite level ready to go. Some of the numbers he put up on a prime MJ and those mid 90’s Bulls was just insane. I like Kobe but Penny was the truth.

[@sicnarf6971]

Funny how you throw shade at Kobe while saying you "like him" You left out the REAL Truth though. Penny came into the league at age 22, so OBVIOUSLY he's going to be more "ready to go". At age 22, Kobe was averaging 28.5 points per game and winning a title. Stop it. Penny was a great passer but his HIGHEST PPG was 21.7 They're 2 different players. Kobe was more like Mike. Penny was more a lesser hybrid of Mike / Magic. N I like Penny.

[@911FitClub]

@@sicnarf6971 Kobe was like MJ in the sense that they were both ball-hogs in desperate need of Phil Jackson and the triangle to stop them from sabotaging themselves. Penny was a much better facilitator than both with a lackluster supporting cast. I don't understand why basketball fans have this affinity to cling to the ball-hog style when we KNOW that shxx does NOT work. But someone comes in and scores 60ppg and still manage to lose the fans are still in awe. Amazing.

[@sicnarf6971]

@@911FitClub He was drafted into a team with Shaquille o Neal but he has no supporting cast? Then when they couldn’t work together he went to Suns to play with Jason Kidd+ but he had no supporting cast? Lmao stfu scrub, you have no idea what you’re talking about

[@charlesberry4885]

@@sicnarf6971 wrong idiot! Harvests injury problems started after Shaq left. Actually in playoffs of 96! Plus white Shaq was there Shaq was main option! Hardaway was team player and chosen to be the number 2! But when her needed and asked on, he more then willing put them on his shoulders and carried the load! So know your stuff

[@charlesberry4885]

@@sicnarf6971 yes highest because he got serious knee injury that never got better! And Kobe never got all NBA first team until like his fourth season of whatnot unite penny who got first team all NBA twice in his first three seasons and all NBA third team in 97 until knee took him out of elite level!

[@mkenglis]

Penny was more skilled than Kobe. Jordan was more athletic than Penny and Kobe. Kobe was a harder worker than Penny and Jordan

[@yunggpacino]

Jordan was better than Penny and kobe

[@themansince]

Nobody played and work harder than MJ.

[@djdecimator97]

MJ had the mental killer instinct like a Cerebral Assassin, Lebron had the toughest body hence the longevity, Penny had the magic touch yet so fragile, I rooted for him back in the mid 90s, and he could have been up there with the GOATs if not for this fragility.

[@Bruhda1]

@@mkenglis Penny was just as athletic at 6'7 as MJ was at 6'6 they both were way more athletic and quicker than Kobe,MJ was just extra aggressive and would dominate you on the scoring and so would Kobe what actually set them apart from Penny was their health and that they were both mainly scorers not facilitators see Penny was all about team ball he would take over games only when the team needed him too like Magic but he was better scorer than Magic with the same basketball IQ with the athleticism and scoring mentality of MJ,Penny was one cold ass player and his game was also comparable to George Iceman Gervin I just wish we hadn't got robbed of seeing what he would of become in his prime cause he was a generational talent like Mike.

[@Cannon4545]

@@Bruhda1 Penny was definitely more athletic than Kobe, but he was not close to MJ's level. You just don't know what you're talking about.

[@patrickbateman80]

Penny, without injuries, could have become what kobe was in the 2000s, or maybe more stronger than him!

[@Yaya11998]

Idk about that

[@Agility007]

This comment is disrespectful

[@patrickbateman80]

@@Agility007 you didn’t understand nothing about my words.

[@rhyno8644]

Wtf Penny Hardaway was way better physically than Kobe Bryant before he got hurt. Penny wasn't even a pure three point shooter. The only other players shoes Jordan ever wore was Penny Hathaway's. He even said Penny was the best point guard he faced in the NBA. It would have been Lin Bias. But he over dosed. There was one player who walked off a high school basketball court chosen to play the dream team. There was one player who beat the Bulls his rookie year and lead his team to the finals. Theres no reason why Kobe would have even started his third season with the Lakers if Nick Van Exel didn't keep getting arrested and the Lakers didn't have to switch out the back court trading him to the Nuggets. The Lakers actually recruited Kobe to be a point guard. Eddie Jones led the league in threes and steals.

[@doeb3]

@@Agility007 Penny came in with that IT factor very similar to magic but more athletic, better shooting & finishing. He was the real deal from day 1 & really made his teammates better. Kobe had to mature when he came in the league… Kobe had the benefit of playing with prime Shaq & Phil Jackson. Penny played with Shaq 3 years in his career and took an expansion magic team to the finals. Sure they didn’t win but Shaq and penny actually faced legit competition in that finals, whereas Kobe and Shaqs’ finals competition is very lackluster. Kobe turned out to have the better career & be the better player but Penny before the injury was on the same level as Kobe. The numbers may not speak but the footage shows.

[@n.dewayneb9258]

If anything, this video should have been titled “Penny Hardaway versus Eddie Jones” since those were the two starting guards.

[@carlwallace1129]

Facts .Eddie played the balk of the minutes Kobe just was a spark plug earning more minutes above garbage time. THIS was borderline click bait .lol

[@brandonwhite6988]

Penny honestly was better no joke

[@bruceleroy1770]

Kobe didn’t get that much burn that game. But the little time he got he did his thing. The Lakers were stacked with guards during that time. Penny was crazy.

[@pancakesarealwaysbetter]

Penny did EVERYTHING!

[@thatguyronwaiters6485]

2 of my top 10 favorite players 🤔possibly 1and 2

[@rjallday28]

This was the game Brian Shaw was talking about on that podcast.

[@kendallbledsoe6548]

If penny never had those injuries smh.. He was going to be a serious problem...

[@carlwallace1129]

Absolutely ✔💯

[@TROYBALLER]

Probably Top 20 All Time deffantly

[@brooksfleming7643]

The shoes were a dope idea. Lol

[@miket8763]

Hardaway was a naturally gifted baller.. A gun straight out of the blocks..needed nobody to learn from. Kobe replicated and learned from the greatest ever in MJ.. and it took some time.

[@carlwallace1129]

Great Breakdown

[@marlowstanfield6815]

"A gun straight out the block " ??Kobe was 18 years old when he was drafted, Penny was 22 😆🤣😂😹😆. Lol casuals always make comments with zero context and act like they just made a smart take lol okay smart guy 😆 🤣

[@miket8763]

@@marlowstanfield6815 Don't cry about it, Hardaway was a better baller from day dot, its common knowledge. And I was there in real time, I can tell you weren't.

[@marlowstanfield6815]

@@miket8763 Compare Kobes stats at 22 to Penny's stats at 22. Kobe averaged 28 ppg at 22 years old while also making 1st team all NBA defense. What did Penny do at 22? "From day dot" Penny was 22 years old right? Compare 22 year old Penny to 22 year old Kobe??? But casual haters don't want that lol, they want to compare 22 year old Penny to 18 year old Kobe lol, Penny wasn't even good enough to make to the NBA at 18 years old you casual 🤣 😂

[@miket8763]

@@marlowstanfield6815 It's pretty simple.. Penny was Rockstar status and Kobe wasn't.. Kobe became eventually but Penny just was. I saw it all unfold in real time and if you didn't you'll never know. Kobe entering the league early was his problem nobody else's. I like Kobe btw but he got a lot of fandorks.

[@rasheemfoster87]

Throwback🙏🏀

[@stevenford1828]

I am a bit prejudice since being from Memphis...I love Penny and Kobe. Miss KB (RIP). God is Good! ❤

[@n.dewayneb9258]

Throughout this entire video I never once saw Kobe or a penny guard each other. So, basically their teams play each other, but they never matched up against one another. Penny Hardaway was definitely better than Kobe at this juncture and Kobe’s career, as Kobe was a rookie. But of course everyone knows how their careers turned out, respectively.

[@DrDEuCeWrLd]

2:20

[@carlwallace1129]

@@DrDEuCeWrLd that was Dennis Scott at the 2:20 mark getting served by kobe. LOL nice try

[@parkhyungkim7667]

I've always wondered why nobody asked Lakers coach Phil Donahue how come he didn't want to give Kobe more minutes in the game.

[@lakaybadboy8083]

Penny

[@kylejames4570]

these are the original kobe shoe!

[@kylejames4570]

eqt top ten 2010

[@louisstipe9917]

I need em

[@roblee9254]

original kobes were adidas feet you wear

[@roblee9254]

kinda a shit shoe

[@kylejames4570]

@@roblee9254 you didn’t get to wear them obviously

[@ameliaszczepanska3382]

Would’ve been the greatest player of all time had he stayed fit

[@Xenon-h9z]

He stayed "fit", he just got injured.

[@themansince]

He was never going to be that good

[@woodsd4]

Penny, always. Played and made it look easy

[@raptorxxxx-dd1fh]

penny is actually more skilled than kobe.

[@chriswalls5831]

Kobe more skilled than Jordan penny good player but I won't agree there

[@chriswalls5831]

@Preacher Man shaq on crack lol Chauncey Billups said Kobe most skilled player dr. J said Kobe is one best to ever play.

[@peterhappenshere]

@@chriswalls5831 Penny had mad talent. I mean way beyond imagination!! But because of this he never thought and was never told that sky is the limit regarding improving your game. I mean the amount of work MJ and Kobe put in as we know by now is way more than Penny ever considered in his prime I guess. But they been told that. Without his injuries and with a mentor or coach who has the mindset and work ethic of MJ or even Kobe for example Penny would have became a top 5 of all time, period. You have to respect that. Back to the basic argument I do think he was more skilled than Kobe comparing their first 3-5 years in the league..... he was just unlucky regarding health and people around him.

[@scarykurapika100yago2]

@@chriswalls5831 Ofcourse cuz Kobe had longevity to work on his game more.. Penny's career was cut short due injuries but he was very skilled from the get go.. imagine if he stayed healthy and improved his game more later.. he would've been as skilled if not more skilled than Kobe

[@robertdelmundo1473]

More skillet than jordan???hahaha moron

[@ryry7435]

Kobe should’ve been playing way more at least 20-25 minutes a game. Before injury Penny was scary. Bar no injuries these two would’ve been a lot closer in careers. Grant Hill and D Rose as well!

[@dexterpereira996]

penny was bigger than kobe in the 90's together with grant hill they were supposed to be the next jordan

[@toreano3160]

Penny was like kobe big brother

[@toreano3160]

Must have been hard seeing shaq leave Orlando

[@2020Viszion]

Weird comment. 'is more skilled'? 1. Neither of them IS still playing. 2. This game: Kobe was a rookie and didn't even start while Penny was already an MVP candidate.

[@billblaski9523]

Damn, Pennys last great season before injuries got his career😢

[@brandonstanfield-pp1ex]

98 YOU MUST SMOKE ALOT LOUD BECAUSE YOU MUST FORGET WHAT HE DID TO MIAMI HEAT IN THE FOAMPOSITE'S

[@AndrewsOpinion15]

GOD GIVE US BACK KOBE BRYANT AND WILL GIVE U TROY FRITH !!!

[@stevehuang2612]

Lol why the slow mo focus @2:22 for the crossover? Wasn’t a particularly impressive one. Kobe has had way better crosses

[@carlwallace1129]

Ikr Lol slo mo against Dennis Scott all 3 and no D playing self 🤣, Maybe not in this game because Dale Harris would tease kobe's playing time against some teams.

[@stevenallen6245]

Eddie Jones was just as talented too but the focus was not on him..

[@ButtZilla]

Eddie was talented but he loved shooting the 3 too much and he wasn't really Ray. He was no franchise player. A good 2nd option.

[@stevenallen6245]

@@ButtZilla good point👍🏾

[@carlwallace1129]

@@ButtZilla great point. Eddie never developed any counter ballhandling moves off the dribble nor never was more than average in the mid range where as kobe excell in both that made defenders have to be more honest or work harder.

[@TheTonytone77]

Eddie was very talented but didn't have the work ethic

[@robg9145]

This shows that kobe was a baby compared to penny !! Kobe started studying mj after this !!!!

[@nelsoncollins4223]

Took his lunch money.

[@beexiong2995]

Kobe has rings. Penny doesn't

[@ButtZilla]

I hear ya. Horry better than Kobe 😏

[@beexiong2995]

@@ButtZilla horry or Kerr who you got? Lol. Both arent good without their stars

[@theonlygoodonehere2259]

@@beexiong2995 horry, because he is actually clutch and bailed out many of those star guys from elimination

[@ethanquenum4778]

@@ButtZilla Yup. Horny's better.

[@Rambo20244]

lol horry and fisher bailed out kobe a few times

[@chriswalls5831]

Penny was good player but Kobe goat

[@carlwallace1129]

Prime Penny was very Good at least. Jordan Kobe Bron Is the GOAT order IMO.

[@Rambo20244]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 kobe stan spotted

[@VidalWilliams-b5b]

Him and Steve Francis

[@tonymills6553]

Yall dillusional if u think Penny was more skilled than Kobe! Hardaway was taller ,,thats bout it! 😂😂

[@aaronflowers8881]

Better passer also.