Penny Hardaway says he was ‘spoiled’ with the Orlando Magic: ‘I took it for granted’ (Ball Don’t Lie)

By the time Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway was traded away from the Orlando Magic in 1999, team's fledgling would-be dynasty was long over. It died in an instant in July, 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal left the franchise as a free agent to join the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving his teammate of three years to play out three more fitful seasons with the club before asking to move West himself. The Magic made the playoffs three times and the NBA Finals once in three seasons with Hardaway and O'Neal playing alongside each other, and they seemed fit to rule the league landscape even with Michael Jordan returning to the Chicago Bulls after an 18-month sabbatical spent mostly playing minor league baseball.