Penny Hardaway

Anfernee Hardaway, known as Penny, was born in Memphis. Basketball-Reference lists him as a 6-foot-7 guard from Treadwell High School who was born in Memphis, Tennessee [1]. Since 2018 he has coached the University of Memphis Tigers, the team he played for as a student [8].

Memphis, then the 1993 draft

Hardaway attended the University of Memphis from 1990 to 1993 [9]. He was often compared to Magic Johnson, according to the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2013 [9]. The Memphis athletics department also inducted him into its M Club Hall of Fame in 2008 [7].

The Golden State Warriors took him third overall in the 1993 NBA Draft [1].

Fourteen NBA seasons

Hardaway played 14 seasons in the NBA. His career totals are 10,684 points, 3,146 rebounds and 3,525 assists [1]. He was a four-time All-Star, with All-Star selections in the 1994-95, 1995-96, 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons on Basketball-Reference [1]. He made the All-NBA First Team in the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons and the All-NBA Third Team in 1996-97 [1]. The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame also records his selection to the NBA All-Rookie First Team [9]. A retailer history of his shoe describes his game as “positionless”, with as much time on the wing as in the paint, and says he averaged nearly 22 points, 7.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds over 82 regular season games with the Magic [6].

Olympic gold in Atlanta

He was part of the United States men’s basketball team that won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics [2]. The Tennessee hall of fame describes him as a member of the Dream Team, “the second U.S. Olympic team comprising NBA players” [9]. Olympedia lists one Olympic medal for him, the gold, from the men’s basketball event [2]. Basketball-Reference lists his positions as shooting guard, point guard and small forward [1].

The Air Penny shoe

Nike’s debut signature shoe for Hardaway was the Air Max Penny 1, released in 1995 and designed by Eric Avar [6]. The shoe was one of the first releases in Nike’s Uptempo collection [6]. Chris Rock voiced the Lil’ Penny character, which helped promote the shoe [6].

Back to Memphis as head coach

In March 2018 Memphis agreed to hire Hardaway, a former Memphis guard, as head coach. He succeeded Tubby Smith, who had been fired after two seasons, during which the team did not reach the NCAA Tournament [8]. Before that he had coached on the AAU circuit and led Memphis East High School to three straight state titles [8].

The 2021 NIT title

Memphis beat Mississippi State 77-64 in the 2021 NIT championship game on 28 March 2021 [11]. Hardaway said after the game: “We had to do it for our city, we owed it to them after the way the season started off” [11].

The 2022 extension

In October 2022 Memphis agreed to a six-year extension worth $16.5 million before incentives, running through the 2027-28 season [5] [10]. CBS Sports reported a salary of $2.5 million for the first season of the deal, rising by $100,000 a year [5]. The school said he had gone 84-43 over four seasons, with four straight 20-win seasons and an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022 [10]. Athletic director Laird Veatch said the deal “has been in the works for quite some time” and that the school “could not have a better fit as our head men’s basketball coach” than Hardaway [10].

The extension came weeks after the program was put on probation over violations involving ineligible players and recruiting, which stem from the 2019-20 season. The University of Memphis avoided stiffer punishments in the case, according to the same report [10].

The 2026 decision

The 2025-26 Tigers finished 13-19 [4]. Daily Memphian columnist John Martin wrote that “the task before him is immense” [4]. In a related Daily Memphian story, Hardaway said, “I know I can come back from failure” [4]. Eight players from that team had until that Friday to say whether they would return for 2026-27, and the athletic director and Hardaway addressed attendance two days after the decision to keep him [4]. In March 2026 the university announced that Hardaway would return to lead the team next season [3].