In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, host Draymond Green sits down with former NBA stars Penny Hardaway and Baron Davis for a free‑flowing conversation that touches on several nostalgic basketball topics. The trio opens with the perennial debate over whether the 1996 U.S. Olympic team could match the legendary 1992 Dream Team, with Draymond candidly noting the 1996 roster’s depth but questioning its ability to dominate the 1992 squad. They then reminisce about the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, sharing personal anecdotes (including Hardaway’s dog GP) and reflecting on the unique circumstances that led Draymond to make the team, such as other players opting out because of health concerns. The discussion shifts to Shaquille O’Neal’s abrupt departure from the Orlando Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers, a move Hardaway describes as the “worst day of my life” because Shaq never told him personally. Hardaway recounts Shaq’s later apology, the media’s criticism of Shaq’s free‑throw shooting, and the broader impact on the Magic franchise. Finally, the panel wraps up with a rapid‑fire “Mount Rushmore” segment, where Hardaway lists his all‑time four greatest players—Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James—highlighting his blend of old‑school reverence and modern appreciation. Throughout, the tone remains informal, conversational, and nostalgic, with moments of enthusiasm, disappointment, and reflective admiration.
Chapters
One debate that comes up all the time is the '96 Olympic team was better than the '92 Dream Team. Where do you stand as far as those teams go? Obviously you were a part of the '96 team, but—
Yeah.
You know, and seeing how those two teams went about.
Yeah, no, all our idols are on '92, bro. We bound out to '92. You got to, bro. You gotta show love and respect to '92. But we ain't bowing out to nobody else though.
Oh, okay. Whoa!
Okay.
Let's go.
Let's go. Let's go through the matchup. Let's go through the matchup. Let's go through the matchup.
We ain't bowing out to nobody else though.
Come on.
We can talk about that all day, right?
Draymond, go.
What's the 5? I know, I'll be 100% honest. I wanna flex my muscle a little bit. I got 2 of them things. But I'll be 100% honest. You know, I'm always keep it real. I'm not a part of some of the greatest Olympic teams of all time. So I got on my first Olympic team because some guys didn't want to go because of the Zika virus in Brazil. So a lot of guys ain't want to go. I'm like, oh.
Yeah, yeah, you took advantage of that.
You gonna have to see me with the mosquito. I'm going. Yeah, no doubt. So I'm not gonna sit here and even act like, one of my Olympic teams could compete. 'Cause I'm sitting here looking at this team list and nah, I'm not gonna do that. I'm gonna always keep it real. No chance. We would've probably, we had a good team, like a really good team, but I'm just not sure our team could compete with this team. So I'm not even gonna do it.
How would you think y'all match up with this past Olympic team though?
Yeah, no, they were really good, you know? And it's just, to me, I mean, we had the biggies. Yeah. You know what I mean? We had all the bigs.
We had Draymond Green. Charles Barkley, Grant Hill, Anthony Hardaway, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, Mitch Richmond, Reggie Miller, Karl Malone, John Stockton, Shaquille O'Neal, Gary Payton, Hakeem Olajuwon. I'm sorry, I can't make that argument.
That's a hell of a team, bro.
That's crazy. That's crazy.
And shout out to GP. GP is my dog. Me and GP got closer doing that Olympics in '96. 'Cause we was, we would go every time you went to Seattle, you had a problem, you had to go to bed, bro. Talking about GP, that dude was real. So we know, listen, everybody can debate their own Olympic team. Like Dray said, man, it was an honor to represent the country. Like you said, people didn't want to go, he went. Come on, bro. That was a blessing, bro. Ours was in the States, in Atlanta, which to me was even more special because my family could come.
That's crazy.
Even if it would've been outta the country, it would've been cool. But just to represent the country was cool.
You come off Olympic gold, right? Summertime, celebrating the gold, and then Shaq leaves the Magic for the Lakers.
Bro, worst day of my life right there. I ain't gonna lie. I knew the magnitude of that, bro. But here's the thing though, that was so crazy. Shaq never told me he was leaving.
Oh, wow.
You know how you get into the, Draymond knows this, like all of the international media, was in there in our interview with the entire team. We're on a panel and they're asking each one of us questions. And one guy goes, how does it feel not to have Shaq as a teammate? I looked around, I was like, Grant Hill right here, Gary Payton. I was like, looked at Charles Barkley. I'm looking, I'm like, if that happens, then that will be devastating. That's exactly what I said. And they was like, no, like he's, he's, he's about to sign a multi-year deal with the Lakers. I was like, well, if that's the case, then, you know, I wish him well. And then Shaq came to my room either that day or the next day, knocked on my door, bro, and was like, bro, I'm sorry. I should have told you, bro. I was done. I was, I was—
Oh.
It killed me, bro. It killed me. But I'm gonna tell you what happened. All of like the entertainers in LA, Jerry West, rest in peace, was so smart. He knew Shaq wanted to be in movies. He knew Shaq wanted that. He brought him to LA. You know, LA is beautiful. Even though Orlando is a family town, LA is different. Yes, it is. When Shaq went there and they, man, they did everything. They threw everything at him. He forgot my name. He was like, what about Penny? He was like, who?
He was like, who?
Oh no, you talking about Kobe and Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones and, oh yeah, I know them cats. But yeah, no, I was happy for him, but I knew what that meant to our franchise, bro. You can't lose that. You can't.
No, no, no.
But the thing that was so bad about that was, the local media would always like poke the bear, meaning like Shaq can't shoot free throws, we'll never win a championship. The fans say Shaq doesn't deserve all the money he's getting because he can't make free throws. They were doing that to him. And I was like, what are y'all doing? Like, dude, come on, y'all crazy. And I think Shaq got a little bit of that in there along with going to LA. But I didn't know, BD, I was in the conference like, I didn't know.
That's crazy.
That's crazy.
Wow. Damn, Shaq.
But he came to the Lakers though, you know what I mean?
Yeah.
That's my dude though, man. Man, that dude, I love that dude to death. But he knew, he apologized 1,000 times after that. Like, if I would've known now what I knew back then. But at the time I felt like he made the right decision for his career monetarily and for championships because he went to a team that was willing to— Yeah, for sure. And Orlando was gonna do exactly what we needed to do to go out and get pieces as well. But, Lakers, Orlando, new franchise versus the history.
But it could, he could have stayed in Orlando for 2 years. 'Cause when he got to LA, he didn't, it took him a while to get there.
Yep.
So, you know, I always say, and I love when he say like, damn, I should have stayed with Penny, got us one and then bounced. So—
That would've been all right with me.
What I wanna know, what does your Mount Rushmore look like? Like who are your 4 players?
I go old school so much, man, but it's so much greatness in today's game and that's played over the last 10 years. But if I'm going old school, old school, it's Shaq, it's MJ, it's Kobe, and it's Bron. That would be my list. So if you want, that would be the list besides me if I'm going that route.
