I do not think a point guard should be judged on individual stats. Wins are a better indication of their worth. But to answer your question Bobby Jackson, Tony Parker, Steve Nash. SF is a better guard than most based on pure athleticism and stats. But the Rockets would be better served with an average PG and an upgrade at a different position. Steve "I'd take that shot again" Francis cannot run an offense CONSTANTLY. I would kill to have a Kenny Smith type player right now. A guy who can knock down a shot or two and can facilitate the offense. And I'll be man enough to admit you guys are right, Penny was a really awesome player when he was healthy. I just think Steve's hype is unwarrented and that guy was one that had tons of hype early in his carreer and none now.
But doesnt Kobe play the same with or with out Shaq If you look at the stats Kobe actually steps up when Shaq is not in the line up. The lakers might not win with just Kobe but at least he steps up his scoring something Penny couldn't do.
The only reason Penny has no hype now is because serious injuries have rendered him a shadow of the player he once was. Were it not for injuries I'm sure we'd be mentioning his name in sentences that contains words like "Magic" and "Bird" with regularity. I suppose it could be argued that durability is part of greatness. I'd consider that avalid arguement even. But none the less, were it not for Penny's injuries he'd still be all over television, magazines and billboards everywhere. I just can't even fathom somebody doubting that. He was unbelievable. He and Grant Hill are two of the saddest cases of injuries hindering careers I've ever seen. I suppose McDyess, Danny Manning, Bobby Hurley and Jay Williams are up there too but I don't think any of those guys actually showed the ability to carry a team like Penny and Grant Hill did. They just had the promise of great careers.
Like its already been said, Penny was SICK his first few years in the league. Its very unfortunate to see him hit with all those injuries. Penny did more in 3 years than Francis has done his whole career. I'm not trying to dog Steve but Penny was scary.
The only thing Penny and Steve have in common is their attitude. Both of them love to blame someone or something else when they play poorly.
Uhhhh... Penny did step up while Shaq was out with injury. Penny did step up after Shaq bolted to LA. At the begining Penny was known as an incredible passer who has very good scoring skills. It's not until Shaq got injured/left that people realized his scoring is right on par with his passing, that he could carry a team. It was too bad the disaster stroke before he could lead the team to anywhere.
Steve doesn't blame someone or something else. All he said was "I've been making the same mistakes all my life. I'm not going to change just because coaches say I should. I'll make the same mistakes again."
Just to add proof to the argument about how good Penny was, in just his second year, he made first-team all-nba over hall of famers in the prime of their careers like KJ, Mitch Richmond, Gary Payton, Tim Hardaway, etc. He did it again in his third year. He averaged like 25 ppg against the Rockets in the 95 finals. He played MVP-like during a stretch of 19 or so games in 95-96 when Shaq went down, carrying the Magic to a lot of wins. Magic Johnson said watching Penny play was like "looking in the mirror." In 1996, Gary Payton responded "Penny Hardaway" when asked who he thought the best guard in the nba was (Michael Jordan was still playing at the time). Lebron James responded the same way when asked who he felt his game most resembled. Theres a lot more I could say, but I'll save it. Anyway, anyone who really believes Penny was all hype or that he was a Steve Francis type player clearly didn't watch any Magic games in the mid-90's (and is probably a teenie-bopper with crappy taste in music). Penny was an average defender, but offensively, he was Magic Johnson with athleticism. It's crazy that a player with so much talent won't get his jersey retired.
