Penny Hardaway breaks down what kind of player he would have been if he never got injured: 'I would have been the best teammate'

A selfless player

The former University of Memphis standout's professional career couldn't have started better. The Magic drafted him with the third overall pick in 1993, imagining a future with him and Shaquille O'Neal leading the franchise to the promised land.

With O'Neal being greedy for the buckets, Hardaway could focus more on playmaking. His shot creation was still in full display, though, averaging 16.0 points and 6.6 assists per game during his rookie year. The following two seasons saw Penny continue to improve, as he put up 21.3 points and 7.1 assists per contest on 51.3 percent shooting in that span.

Clearly, he had no issues taking the backseat to a superstar teammate. That quality has led Penny to believe that success wouldn't have been hard to reach if only he were healthy in the first place.

"I would have been the best teammate," Hardaway further asserted. "I feel like I would have been one of the best winners because I would have did whatever it took to take the backseat to anybody that I played with to get that ring. It would have been no ego with me."

It's a shame that the four-time All-Star's injuries got the best of him. It also didn't help when O'Neal left Orlando to start fresh with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996. He did well when healthy, though, as he led the Magic to a 45-37 record while earning a third consecutive starting berth in the All-Star Game.

However, his transition to becoming an injury-prone player had already begun.

Opening a new chapter in Phoenix

Hardaway's Magic tenure ended when he was shipped to the Phoenix Suns in the 1999 offseason. The move paired him with Jason Kidd, another point guard who was most effective when he was directing the offense.

However, Penny was able to prove then how well he could adjust from being the lead ball-handler to a more off-ball role. When he and Kidd played together in the 1999-00 campaign, the Suns had a 33-12 record. But injuries to both players doomed the team's chances that season. After they helped dispatch the San Antonio Spurs in the first round, the Lakers eliminated them in the conference semifinals.

It would have been interesting to see if Hardaway had indeed played with no ego, as he said if he had managed to avoid the injury curse. But based on evidence, that's what probably would have happened.