When a son lived up to his father's legacy: The Hardaway story

The world of sport is littered with instances of budding professionals crumbling under the enormous weight of living up to the legacy of their sporting parent/s.

The pressure of doing justice to a famous sporting last name can often derail a youngster's career even before it can take off.

But it was a tad different in the case of Tim Hardaway Jr., the son of former NBA star Tim Hardaway, who had a glittering pro basketball career spanning across 14 NBA seasons from 1989 to 2003.

Coming up the ranks in the sport, Hardaway Jr. had little choice but to hear people bring up his father's name every time he did something noteworthy. Yet, instead of seeking advice from his illustrious dad on how to wade through the pressure waves, the son chose to learn how to sail through the tide all by himself.

"I never even knew about the pressure that was on him," the senior Hardaway, who was in India as an ambassador of the NBA, told DNA in a chat.

"It was only after he made it to the NBA that my wife told me the amount of pressure he was dealing with. And I went, 'Woah, I never knew that!'

"I never knew that people were putting that much pressure on him, saying those really mean things to him and everything else. The moment my wife told me about it, I was like, 'I wish he had told me before, I would have known what to tell him'," the 52-year-old added.

He didn't have to.

Hardaway Jr. was picked up by the New York Knicks in 2013 after a promising college and junior career. As a rookie, Hardaway Jr. chose to wear the No. 5 jersey, the same number his five-time NBA All-Star father sported for a majority of his career.

"Words can't describe how I feel that my son is following my footsteps," Hardaway said.

"He's having a good time, he's also having a good season this year. So, it feels great. I try to catch every game of his that I can. And I enjoy watching him play."

The proud father, who was part of the American team that won gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, believes now that his son has broken the living-up-to-the-legacy shackles, he can fly a free bird.

"The pressure was trying to make the NBA because of my legacy and what I was able to achieve. Now that he has made it there, I told him, 'you should be on your own. My legacy shouldn't even be a factor to you going to the next level from where you are now'," Hardaway said.