How To Train like Penny Hardaway
Penny just played a lot of ball.
Penny Hardaway was one of the coldest guards in the NBA.
He was big, fast, quick, explosive, skilled, talented, smart -he was everything you wanted in a point guard.
He was fun and exciting to watch and so many kids wanted to emulate his flash.
So, while he was on The OGs podcast, host Mike Miller asked him what training advice he would give to a high school kid.
“One last question for the kids, ‘What was your training routine and how can I do it as a freshman in high school?’” Miller said.
Hardaway gave one of the best answers:
“Man, you gotta go to six parks a day. You got to go to three gyms. You got to chase all the good hoopers around your city, and go gym to gym or court to court, and just keep getting better. You get your ass busted, you show up at that court the next day until you just start owning it.”
Hardaway added that aside from playing as much basketball as you can, you also have to work on your skills. And the best way to do this, he says, is to find someone around your level, who has a similar personality as you, and work out with them.
“But honestly, if that’s not what you’re about, you get in the gym and you find somebody that’s better or equal, that has the same mental with you, and you go into that gym and y’all work,” he said. “You work on your weaknesses, you work on your strengths, you work on your ball handling, your passing, you work on your shooting.”
However, he reiterated that practicing is not enough and you have to go out and play basketball because these games are where you learn how to play.
“And find some hooping, bro. Like, find somewhere to play because all these drills are not going to get you -the experience is the best teacher,” he said. “Find where they’re playing ball and be the hardest competitor in that hoop. Don’t just go through the motions. Be the toughest competitor. Make them say, ‘Damn, this dude is playing hard.’ Stand out in that aspect because a lot of people aren’t used to getting uncomfortable. And that’s what you have to be, man. You got to be uncomfortable to be great.”
Penny Hardaway played in the NBA for 14 years and accomplished a lot early on.
In his first six seasons, he was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year Award, an All-Rookie player, an All-Star four times, and an All-NBA player three times.
However, he was struck by a major injury in his fourth season and didn’t come back as explosive, which affected his on-court production.
He still had a fruitful career, but didn’t progress to his highest potential.
Hardaway ended his career averaging 15.2 points, 5.0 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
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