You remember “Lil Penny”? I sure do. It seemed like yesterday when Lil Penny was doing his thing to promote Penny Hardaway’s signature sneaker. All of us, including Penny, will never forget the Lil Penny advertising campaign that represented one of the most iconic signature shoe lines ever made. Where have all the good times gone? I think we all wonder where they have gone when it comes to the career of Penny Hardaway. Nobody wonders more than Hardaway himself. After being swept in the 1995 NBA Finals by the Houston Rockets the good times started to fade for Penny. In the puma trainers seasons after that devasting Finals loss Penny still put up some pretty impressive numbers but his time was running out. Injuries plagued him for the rest of his career and cheap puma shoes left most of us wondering what could have been.
The Nike Air Max Penny was and is one of the most recognized signature sneakers that was ever dropped on the sneaker community. Originally released in 1995, the popularity of this shoe has never wavered regardless of how many times it has been puma shoes retroed. And it has been retroed. No more than in the last couple of years. It actually seems to be gaining momentum. There seems to be a new colorway dropped every couple of months. Wolf Grey, Black/Neon Green, and a Black/Dark Grey/White are nike air max all colorways that have recently dropped. They has even been a Black/Club Purple colorway dropped that represents the time Penny spent with the Phoenix Suns. Among all of the colorways puma store to drop was the original nike air max shoes colorway that was released for the first time since 2007.
The original Nike Air Max Penny was an Orlando Magic-inspired colorway of Black/Varsity Royal/ and White. This cheap puma trainers iconic colorway and shoe featured an oversized jeweled Swoosh and used a visible wraparound Max Air unit in the sole. And, of course, the classic 1 Cent Penny logo at the heel. All of these elements combined on a one of a kind silhouette make this a truly epic signature sneaker. Consider this, at the time this shoe was released as a signature shoe for Hardaway, no other NBA player other than Michael Jordan had a pair of Nike shoes for basketball in their name. That is epic!
Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway had a very successful career in the NBA. Unfortunately he was a victim of unfulfilled expectations. Expectations set by himself, his fans, and the rest of the NBA. A very successful career and the signature shoe line he left behind are much more valuable than “what could have been”. There will always be a “what could have been”. And there will always be the Nike Air Max Penny. Hopefully in many different colorways in the years to come.