Patrick Johnson 
Nike is revitalizing their Penny Hardaway line with another two-shoe pack. After the ‘Shooting Stars’ release last summer, the Swoosh is looking back at one of the few times a banned sneaker went on to create a unique narrative thanks in part to the performance of the player wearing shoe that didn’t coincide with NBA dress-code guidelines.
Back in the 1997 NBA Playoffs, Penny championed the Nike Air Foamposite One, but the NBA brass weren’t too fond of the Royal colorway. The predominantly monochromatic royal blue upper didn’t adhere to the uniform violations of the day. Sound familiar? Michael Jordan could say the same thing about his legendary ‘Bred’ colorway of the Air Jordan 1. But rather than sideline the shoe, Penny broke out a Sharpie and colored in stripes of black giving his Foamposite a rather tiger-like PE twist. What followed was two of Hardaway’s most memorable performances in a Magic uniform.
The insoles of the Sharpied-out Foamposite read ’41 points’ and ’42 points’ respectively in honor of Penny’s incredible Game 3 and Game 4 performances that allowed the Magic to even up the series with the Miami Heat in Round 1 of the 1997 NBA Playoffs. Orlando would eventually go on to lose the deciding Game 5, but the impact of Penny’s performance in his hand-crafted tiger-striped silhouette landed the shoe in sneaker lore to this day.
The pack comes equipped with a number of goodies including a special Orlando colorway of Penny’s latest, the Nike Penny 6, featuring modern-day amenities like a Megafuse constructed upper and Dynamic Flywire support. No word yet on a release date, but check out detailed photos below and be sure to let us know if you’re excited about the prospect of Penny’s ‘Sharpie’ Foams finally releasing at retail.
Source: HK Kicks
