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. Tony Allen, who built a reputation on his hustle and hard work, was once on the receiving end of the Mamba’s respect, and he was taken aback by it too.
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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. He also gave several shoutouts to Allen 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.
During a conversation with Molly Morrison, he 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 Allen with the 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.
There’s not a lot that tops praise from Kobe Bryant, but Tony Allen was so feared as a defender, that another future Hall of Famer recently revealed how he hated his matchups against him.
Kevin Durant hated playing against Tony Allen
Allen had a suffocation on-ball pressure. He had the ability to break down the strongest of offense with his game. 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 terrorized Kevin Durant as well.
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**ker coming flying out of nowhere. Then that just f**k 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. Allen returned the compliment by saying that KD was the second toughest player he ever guarded, only behind Kobe Bean Bryant.
