'I thought Shaq and I we're gonna play together for the rest of our careers' - Penny Hardaway admits he was blindsided by Shaq's decision to leave

When talking about the most dominant duos in the rich history of the NBA, many will immediately think of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, who dominated the '90s, or LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, who were some of the most hated villains at the time when they joined forces in South Beach. However, there is one underrated duo that left much to be desired—Anfernee Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal.

Penny and Shaq played three seasons together with the Orlando Magic, and in that short time, they conquered the Eastern Conference, made it to the Finals, and both were near the top of MVP voting in those campaigns. And, yeah, to make things even better, they were just 24 at the time and far from reaching their full potential. The future looked bright for the Florida franchise, but in an unexpected turn of events, "The Big Diesel" decided to leave the team and move to the Los Angeles Lakers in search of a better deal and championship success.

This decision left many in shock, and one of those most affected was none other than Penny, who admitted he was completely surprised by the dominant center's decision.

"It was pretty sad. We had something special," the Memphis product shared.

"I thought Shaq and I were gonna play together for the rest of our careers. I never had any thought that he was thinking about leaving or ever wanted to leave. It was really shocking when he left, and after that it went downhill," he added.

Shaq wanted to stay

It's interesting that before the 1995-96 season, there was a widespread belief around the Association that Shaq would remain with the Magic for the foreseeable future. This sentiment was reinforced by his agent, Leonard Armato, who claimed, "I don't see any reason why he won't spend the rest of his career in Orlando."

Heck, even "The Big Aristotle" himself made it clear that his intention is to remain loyal to Orlando.

"My house is here, my dog is here, of course I'd like to stay here. I don't need money. I need rings," the 7'1" center said at the time.

As we know by now, that didn't happen. Although O'Neal and Hardaway had their fair share of issues on and off the court, the main reason the dominant center went searching for sunnier shores in the City of Angels was financial.

O'Neal made history with Kobe instead of Penny

Instead of giving him the paycheck that a superstar of Shaq's caliber deserves, the Magic executives decided to be stingy with their money, ultimately losing the center for years to come because of it.

"The Diesel" tested free agency, and a team with the reputation and success of the Lakers quickly grabbed the LSU product without much hesitation. With the Purple and Gold, O'Neal became a three-time Champion and three-time Finals MVP alongside another legendary guard, Kobe Bryant, with whom he formed one of the most dominant duos ever. Although history has been altered with that move, we can't help but wonder how many titles prime Penny and Shaq would have won in Orlando.