Tony Allen is notoriously known for striking fear into the hearts of every poor sob he happens to defend — just ask Kevin Durant. The robust 6’4″ guard out of Oklahoma State chats with refs during timeouts, shamelessly raps along to the music he bumps in the weight room, and greets team employees with, “What’s up, Killa?!”
Allen’s boisterous personality translates to his specialty of shutting down the league’s premier scorers; Kobe Bryant took particular note of Allen’s skill by saying that, “He plays harder than everybody else defensively.”
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Occasionally, after coming up with a steal, Allen will smack himself on the butt and yell, “Good D, T.A!” to himself or look at the scorers table where the media is sitting and bark, “First team!”
Allen is yelling at the same courtside reporters who he believes snubbed him by leaving him off the All-Defensive First Team in 2014.
“I was highly upset I didn’t get put on that first team last year, and it kind of hurt my heart,” said Allen, who’s averaging a career-high two steals per game and forces his opponents to shoot 7 percentage points fewer than their season averages. “I missed a lot of games I guess, but how did I not make it? Unfortunately the media votes on that and they snubbed me this time.”
Allen attributes his defensive inclination to his former teammate and future Hall of Famer, Paul Pierce.
“Paul Pierce helped me out, saying, ‘If you can guard me in practice every day, you can guard just about anybody.’ He gave me confidence. A lot of my influence comes from him.”
Tony Allen had to prepare to go up against one of the greatest scorers of all-time, Bryant, before the start of the 2010 NBA Finals. As Allen observed the varying work ethics of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, that gritty defensive role he plays was instilled in him with the support of his former head coach, Doc Rivers.
Tony Allen was determined to step up to Kobe and make life miserable for the Lakers’ legend on the games biggest stage.
“Kobe is the best player I’ve ever played against—period, point blank. He’s a scary sight. Back on Feb. 22, 2005—my rookie season—he fouled me out. I had six fouls in eight minutes,” said Allen.
Allen, who was clearly up for the challenge, forced Bryant to shoot a measly 40.5 percent from the field — though the Lakers ended up taking Game 7.
Tony Allen has immensely helped to establish a defensive-minded culture in Memphis as the fulcrum of the Grizzlies’ defense. His defensive intensity holds an infectious aura.
The defense and energy I’ve brought to Memphis since 2010 has had a snowball effect. Now the Grindhouse is a culture, a household thing—all heart, grit, grind. I coined that team phrase after we beat the Thunder on Feb. 8, 2011, when I had 27 points and five steals (below). O.J. Mayo used to say I was a “thirsty dog.” But one of my Twitter fans said it the best, calling me “The Grindfather.”
Next: The Gasol Brothers' Humble Journeys Toward NBA Domination
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