MEMPHIS, Tenn. — With three big, sharpshooting guards in the family, who is the better shooter? It's an easy question to ask the Hardaway family.
"I'm going him," the older brother, Jayden said, nodding to his younger brother.
"Between the three of us? I got the best three-pointer, but [Jayden] got the better mid-range for sure. Pops comes last," said Ashton.
Penny Hardaway, a four-time NBA All-Star and two-time college All-American, laughed at the question asked just before the team left for the American Athletic Conference Championship in March.
"I'll say me," Hardaway said. "But it has been gratifying to have both [of his sons] on the team this year."
The 2023-2024 Memphis Tigers basketball season will be one the Hardaway boys will remember for a long time. For the first time, they had spent an entire year together.
The brothers both share Penny as a father but have different mothers. Jayden grew up with his dad on the east coast, mostly in Miami. Ashton grew up west coast with his mother in Texas and California.
Penny juggled being an NBA star and a dad to two talented boys.
"I spent the time that I needed to spend with Ashton to let him know that I was going to be there," Penny said. "I couldn't be at every event, but I was going to be in his life wholeheartedly and build a great relationship."
The brothers on opposite coasts were always aware of each other. They were not texting or calling all the time, but in the age of social media and YouTube, it was not hard to keep up with each other's progress.
It was in high school that Jayden found out his brother was a rising prospect even as a middle schooler and, eventually, an upperclassman at Sierra Canyon High School, the same school where LeBron James' son, Bronny, played.
"I was excited for him. Even though I didn't get to see him that much, I would always see his highlights and games on the internet and social media," Jayden said. "I was tuned in from wherever I was. I was proud of him."
The younger brother kept up with his older brother's play with the Team Penny Hardaway AAU team and his progress at East High School playing under their dad.
When Jayden began playing for Memphis, Ashton would catch Tigers games on TV whenever he could.
"Throughout this whole process, we've always been connected without being with each other physically because we've always still supported each other," Ashton said.
The brothers are in a unique position. They are the sons of a three-time All-NBA player whose signature sneaker still sells out. In Memphis, in particular, Hardaway is a legend. He took the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament twice and got them to the Sweet 16 in 1992. Later, he came to back to his alma mater to be the coach.
At what point does a kid realize their dad is a legend?
Jayden noticed around elementary school. Growing up in Miami, other kids thought he was the son of Tim Hardaway even though Penny played and retired with the team as well.
"I was always arguing with people through elementary and middle school like, 'Nah, my dad played in the league too. He was nice too, look him up!'" Jayden said.
After being pestered with questions, Ashton decided to find his dad's old highlights on YouTube. What he found was a 6'7" point guard, doing things few had done before him.
"I just thought he was different. People always compare him to the greats. I think he's one of the greats for sure," Ashton said. "He was one of one to me."
The boys naturally followed in their dad's basketball footsteps. But it's hard to live up to a legend, as some sons of NBA vets have proven in recent years.
Jayden was born autistic and developed a breathing condition. Penny wondered if his son would play ball collegiately.
"It was two things going against him. When he came [to Memphis] as a walk-on I thought it was pretty cool that he was even out on the floor," Penny said.
Ashton's road to college basketball was not quite as difficult. He dominated high school basketball in Texas before the move to California. By the time he graduated, he was a four-star recruit heavily desired by schools like Kansas, Texas Tech and USC.
If simply being an NBA star's son is hard, playing at his alma mater can be even tougher. Memphis takes their basketball more seriously than most schools across the nation.
Hardaway did his best to prepare his sons. They felt like they were ready to handle being in the Bluff City.
"It's a different type of target on your back too, with the Hardaway on your jersey. It's a different type of approach that the people give you in public and on the court; you just have to come different," Ashton said. "I feel like [Penny] has implemented that in us to handle it differently than everyone else."
"That target on our back is part of building your character. It's going to follow with us the rest of our lives because we're going to have a target on our back wherever we go," Jayden said.
Jayden played for the Tigers five years and wore his father's number 25 jersey. In his sophomore and junior seasons, he helped Memphis to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and the school's first AAC Championship.
It's the night's playing in front of a raucous FedExForum that will stand out the most in his mind.
"Just playing for the city like the fan and the city love is crazy. It's a basketball city, they're all grit and grind," Jayden said. "When we play in front of the Forum like in front of those packed-out crowds, it's just a crazy atmosphere and I love and I cherish every single one of those moments."
Having not one, but two sons on your team is no easy task either. Penny juggled the responsibilities of being a recruiter, a coach and a father for both of his kids.
In a city where the spotlight is on the basketball program, 24/7, it was difficult at times to keep the lines from blurring.
"Obviously, these are my sons, so they're going to be with me for life. So I don't try to put the coach in too far ahead of being the father. I know I have a job to do. But I have to do things off the court to make sure they're good, and on the court, I push them to be the best," Hardaway said.
The 2023-2024 season together will be the only one that the Hardaway's share on the court. Jayden exhausted his college eligibility and will pursue a professional career. Ashton chose to transfer after his freshman year and signed with St. Mary's back in California.
But getting a chance to all be together so much, for the first time, is not something they took lightly.
"Me and Ash got way closer this year," Jayden said. "We found out what we like and we found out like different ways to hang out on and off the court. Whether it's coming back to the gym or getting on the game together or just laughing like sending each other stuff on social media just little things like that."
"This is definitely a year I'm going to remember like for the rest of my life for sure," Ashton said. "Really being with my brother all year, being close to my dad for the first time. I say it's something I definitely haven't taken for granted at all just really soaking up everything all the blessings that has come with."
For Penny, it is back to business as usual. With neither of his sons on the team for the first time since 2017, he can focus on building a solid roster and not worrying about if either of his sons are getting too much or not enough playing time. He can focus on another conference championship and returning to the NCAA Tournament after a disappointing finish to the season.
Still, the year with both sons under one arena jumbotron is one he always wanted, but never thought he would actually get to see and one he will remember for a long time.
"It's brought us all together. It's put us in a position where we've been around each other every day pretty much. Enjoying a great season, enjoying learning more and more about each other's ways," Penny said. "It's been it's been a cool experience for me. I never thought that it would ever happen because I didn't know I was going to be the coach here and to have both my sons here is pretty cool."