The NBA sidekick Hall of Fame

Penny Hardaway and Grant Hill

For anyone who grew up or watched basketball in the 1990s, the adjective “underrated” may ring somewhat false in regards to Penny Hardaway’s basketball career, and if not necessarily false, then the descriptor most definitely reads as not the entire story. Then again, the story with Penny always reads as unfinished business.

What he and Shaquille O’Neal were building in the 90-foot space between swamp and amusement park was left under construction when Shaq abandoned the project for old money Los Angeles. Then injuries depleted Penny, leaving him unable to reinvent himself as anything other than a footnote to in the Big Aristotle’s early writings. Penny is now a vague antecedent for Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade; a once in a generation talent remembered most exclusively by a single generation.

Maybe you don’t think Grant Hill belongs on this list, and maybe you’re right. He definitely didn’t belong in Orlando.

After a stellar start to his career, Hill’s body broke down. Everyone knows this, although maybe everyone isn’t quite the same number it once was. His last season at an All-Star level was in 1999-00, when he averaged 25.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. Then he signed with the Orlando Magic and played in only four games his first season in a new uniform, but still made an All-Star team.

The next three seasons, he played in only 43 games. He missed the entire 2003-04 season. The glass ankle jokes broke themselves. He played in 67 games in the 2004-05 season. He made another All-Star game. The next season he played in only 21 games. He was 33. He seemed to have been sacrificed to no end. He would play one more season in Orlando.

Many individuals who are not basketball players or world-class athletes of any sort probably would have quit over less. Most people do not like pain. Most people endure life, but life can be had without what Grant Hill endured. Money, which isn’t all life is, can also be had without what Grant Hill endured. This was about something else. Perhaps this was about proving all the silver spoon accusations false. Perhaps it was for the love of the game.

Grant Hill signed with the Phoenix Suns.

Grant Hill joined the Seven Seconds or Less Suns — how would he ever manage to keep up on those ankles? — and transformed his identity as a player. That first year with the Suns, his VORP was good enough for fourth on the team. He was fifth in win shares. The next year the team added Shaquille O’Neal. Seven seconds now lasted longer than it once did, and on a team where seven of the top rotation guys finished with a VORP between 1.3 and 2.2, Hill was No. 2.

His points, rebounds and assists were all down from what they had been, as were all the advanced metrics, but he was clearly contributing. He could pick up a basketball at any time in any era and contribute. This seemed miraculous, and while he wasn’t necessarily the best role player ever, he was one of the most inspiring because none of this was really going to return him to his youth.

Hardaway really only had three full NBA seasons unhampered by injury. In his fourth year, he only played 59 games, his fifth year 19, and then the next year, he finished his stint in Orlando by playing another partial season. The Magic would then trade him to Phoenix. One of the draft picks involved would be used by Phoenix to acquire Amar’e Stoudemire.

Hardaway’s departure from Florida helped clear the runway for Hill’s arrival. In the middle of the 2004-05 season, Phoenix would trade Hardaway and Stephon Marbury to the New York Knicks. The move would help clear the cap space for Phoenix to sign Steve Nash. That move would help create the environment for Grant Hill’s rejuvenation. Being a strong sidekick, or role player, is all about mastering the right migration patterns through the league. Often times, though, those patterns are beyond a player’s control and all about luck (or the lack thereof).