“Footwork Alone Had You Drunk”: Tony Allen Recalls How Tough of a Defensive Assignment Kobe Bryant Was

NBA legend Tony Allen was recently on the Out The Mud podcast where he talked about the late, great Kobe Bryant. Allen’s career started in the Kobe era of NBA basketball and he was always assigned the mighty task of guarding the Mamba when his team played the Lakers. After many years of trying to stop the five-time NBA Champion, the 42-year-old raved about Kobe’s footwork and movement on the podcast.

Allen said that guarding Kobe was one of the toughest things in the league. Since he was with the Celtics for the first six years of his career, the rivalry between the two sides added more pressure to the already difficult task.

Allen said, “His footwork was so amazing to where he’ll catch it in the block, square up, jab to the right, act like he’ll drive towards the basket and spin around and fade away. Just that footwork alone had you drunk.”

Although the 2008 NBA Champion had a tough job at hand, their matchup was legendary. Allen revealed that Kobe holds a very unique record against him.

Tony Allen on Kobes skills:

"His footwork was so amazing to where he would catch it on the block, square up jab to the right and act like hes driving to the basket and fade away. Just that footwork alone had you drunk." pic.twitter.com/35tqfYY2VU

— TheTruth (@TheTruth8240) December 22, 2024

“He’s the only player in the NBA, I promise you, that fouled me out. Six fouls in eight minutes, bro,” he added. Allen said that this happened in his rookie year and 20 years later, he still remembers it like it was yesterday.

The 42-year-old used to watch countless hours of tapes to get a good read on the Lakers superstar. That’s when he realized that Kobe’s game was very similar to Michael Jordan.

During an interview with NBA.com, he had said, “Kobe is almost like Jordan. A lot of Jordan moves, fadeaway, fadeaway, head fake, head fake. Jab step, stop, pull up. Boom. Or I’m gonna take you to the hole and dunk.” Allen noted that Kobe never went for easy threes except when the clock was running out. This dedication to being a great defender against Kobe was appreciated by the late legend.

Kobe Bryant hailed Tony Allen as the toughest defender

The Mamba was notorious for not being friendly with the people he competed against. However, Kobe always appreciated a good competition and whenever someone went the extra mile to play better against him, he was the first one to acknowledge it. During a promotional event for BodyArmor Sports Drink, he was asked to name the toughest defender he ever faced.

Kobe said, “Tony Allen. That’s easy. He was the only one who wasn’t crying for help…Tony Allen would play straight up. Be physical. I could score 10 straight on him, he was not blinking. He’s still here. He’s still physical. He’s not backing down. Tony Allen by far.”

Allen was a great defender in his time. He made six NBA All-Defensive Team appearances in his career. During the 2008 NBA title run by the Celtics, where they beat Kobe and the Lakers, Allen was one of the best players on the team.