Throughout his nearly two-decade career in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal played for six different teams, most notably the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. While playing for the Magic in the early 1990s, Shaq shared the court with Penny Hardaway, who remained with the Orlando team after Shaq left for the Lakers in 1996.
When looking back on Shaq's departure from Orlando to L.A., Hardaway believes there were other forces—or people—at play that had a hand in his move. He shared his thoughts in a recent interview on the Let's Be Clear podcast.
"I wanted to win a championship. I felt like our championship run was cut short when Shaq went from us to the Lakers. I knew that was going to be devastating, especially when you lose a guy of that magnitude," he said honestly.
He also confessed he "did not" know Shaq was going to leave when he did.
"I found out in the Olympics in '96," he revealed. "I was in the media coverage—when we were in media day in the Olympics, and the reporter asked me, ‘How do you feel [about] not having Shaq on your team anymore?' [Shaq] didn’t tell me at the time and then afterwards he and I spoke. But he had already made a contract with the Lakers."
As for why Shaq jumped from East Coast to West Coast, Hardaway believes some Hollywood stars had a hand in convincing him to go.
"I didn't want him to go, but I found out that Bruce Willis and Demi Moore [and] all these entertainers and actors out in L.A. helped recruit him with [Lakers player] Jerry West to come out there, and it was too overwhelming. And Shaq being in the movies and into music, it was a great career move for him, because going to L.A. was a bigger market than Orlando was," he explained. Neither Willis nor Moore have confirmed any involvement with Shaq's decision.
After a few years with the Lakers in the late '90s, Shaq and his teammates took the team to glory with three consecutive championship wins in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
Hardaway and Shaq's time in Orlando wouldn't be the last time they would play alongside each other. In 2004, Shaq departed L.A. for the Miami Heat and won his fourth championship in 2006. The following year, Hardaway joined the Heat for his final season in the NBA.
Both ex-NBA stars have been keeping busy in retirement. Shaq has been occupied between DJing and his endorsement deals, while Hardaway is the head coach for the University of Memphis men's basketball team.
