Anfernee Hardaway and Chris Rock Announce Lil’ Penny Comeback


You remember Lil’ Penny, right? The loud-mouth mini-sidekick who hawked Penny sneakers alongside Anfernee Hardaway back in the day? Well, sounds like he might be making a comeback. The Bottom Line Sports Show got the details straight from the two Penny voices themselves: “Penny Hardaway and Chris Rock reunited last night on The Bottom Line Sports Show where they revealed the potential comeback of Lil’ Penny for the release of Hardaway’s Nike Air Penny 5 sneakers. When asked about his interest in working with Hardaway and Nike to bring the hilarious puppet back to life, Rock responded with “let’s do it!” Rock and Hardaway made history with the rambunctious Lil’ Penny character in a series of Nike shoe commercials from 1994-1998. In addition to their momentous announcement they shared with listeners how Lil’ Penny came about and the influence it had on sneaker culture. “I am extremely grateful that Penny approved my participation in the commercials. He is a quiet and cool guy so Lil’ Penny was the perfect alter ego.” said Rock. “We just had fun with it and people really loved what we did with the character.”…“I knew Lil’ Penny was going to be a hit when they said Chris Rock would be the voice. He is a genius at what he does and people love comedy.” states Hardaway. “Lil’ Penny cannot be duplicated. We were apart of some of the best commercials in sports history.” Hardaway and Rock reunited on The Bottom Line Sports Show after approximately 20 years.”