Kobe Bryant wasn’t one to hand out compliments that easily. You had to earn the Mamba’s respect to get some back, and that didn’t happen with a lot of people. Which is why Tony Allen was taken aback when he was once at the receiving end of his respect — that too, in person.
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Not that Allen was undeserving, having built a reputation for himself based on his hustle and hard work. Throughout their several battles, the Black Mamba found him to be his toughest challenge. Before Kobe retired, he made sure that ‘The Grindfather’ knew how impressed he was.
During a conversation with Molly Morrison, Allen said, “I actually got a picture of this, him hugging me and him telling me in my ear, ‘I appreciate our battles.’ And he was like, ‘You was the toughest defender that I ever faced, bro…Keep it up.’ I was just shocked, like, damn, he actually said something to me.”
That was their final battle on the court as Kobe was on his retirement tour. To further emphasize how much he admired the former Grizzly, Bryant gave a signed pair of Kobe’s to the former Celtics and Grizzlies small forward with the following message, “To Tony, the best defender I ever faced,” written on them. Allen revealed that he has kept those shoes in a locker and will keep that memory close to his heart.
But that was not the only time that Kobe has been appreciative of ‘The Grindfather’. He has given him several shoutouts on public platforms, acknowledging him as the toughest defender he ever faced.
During a Body Armor event, Kobe had said, “Tony Allen would play you straight up. I could score 10 straight on him, and he’s not blinking. He’s still there, he’s still playing defense, he’s still being physical, and he’s not backing down.” Getting praised by one of the greatest ever meant a lot to Allen and he also got to experience it personally.
Allen had the ability to break down the strongest of offense with his game with the way he suffocated opponents with his relentlessness on the ball. It’s understandable why one of the greats of the game was so appreciative of him. But Kobe isn’t the only NBA legend who had trouble playing his natural game against ‘The Grindfather’. Allen intimidated Kevin Durant as well.
Kevin Durant hated playing against Tony Allen
During a conversation on Out The Mud Podcast, KD said, “Most of the time I feel like oh this an open shot here this motherf***er coming flying out of nowhere. Then that just f***(s) with you mentally.”
“If I get a pin-down and I might be slightly open, here you come out of nowhere, good help might get your hand in there,” he said, praising not only Allen’s tough defense but his ability to make reads and disrupt play.
“I just hated playing against y’all ’cause I knew everybody was focused on me coming off them screens a pick and roll and then,” he added.
A few years ago, in an ESPN interview, Allen famously said that KD was the second toughest player he ever guarded, only behind Kobe Bryant. So the respect has always been mutual and rightly so.
