What do you do when you’re up against one of the fiercest and most disruptive defenders in the NBA and you need to get a bucket? If you’re Kobe Bryant, whatever you possibly can, up to and including speaking a different language on the court.
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Tony Allen stopped by The OGs podcast this week, and as one of the premier defensive players of Kobe’s era, he was asked to share some stories of his legendary battles with the Lakers legend.
Allen first recalled a time when he gummed up the Lakers triangle offense so badly that Kobe resorted to abandoning English in an attempt to confuse him and get some points.
“They’re running the Triangle offense … and we done played against it, scouted it, studied it,” Allen said. “I know when you flash to this elbow and Pau [Gasol] is up top, I know the backdoor is coming with the big. You might give a handoff to Lamar Odom, and then after that, you going straight to your iso. So why not I just deny this? How ’bout this just be my best defense on you, right?”
Allen was infamous for being able to fight through any screen, and he described how he forced the Lakers out of what they wanted to do on a few possessions in a row. Never one to back down from a challenge, Kobe then decided to try something new.
“Kobe’s mad. And then all of a sudden, they’re coming back down. I think they’re about to go back into their action. He just starts speaking in Spanish to Pau [Gasol]. I’m like, ‘Why is you speaking in Spanish?’ I say, ‘No, the backdoor comin’.'”
Kobe was a man of many talents, and speaking multiple languages was one of them. Spanish wasn’t his only trick. Bryant’s old teammate Sasha Vujacic revealed to Allen on the Out the Mud podcast last month that they spoke Italian to confuse him. “I KNEW IT!” Allen exclaimed.
Kobe Bryant paid Tony Allen the ultimate respect
The battles between Allen and Kobe were always intense because Kobe wanted to prove that he couldn’t be stopped, and Allen refused to back down. That led to an unspoken respect during their many clashes on the court.
“Me and Kobe, man, we never talked, bro. We never had one conversation on the court. Only thing he ever said to me was the last time he played, he grabbed me and hugged me, he was like, ‘Bro, I enjoyed all the battles, bro. You’re the toughest.’ He told me in my ear.”
“I’m like, ‘Damn.’ I just couldn’t believe, I was like, ‘This man actually said something to me.’ I’m talking about my whole 14 years of playing basketball, it was the only conversation I had with him.”
Kobe later gifted Allen a pair of signed sneakers with the inscription, “To Tony, the best defender I ever faced!”
Despite making six All-Defensive teams and being viewed as one of the best lockdown defenders of his or any era, Allen never won a Defensive Player of the Year award. There may be an empty spot in his trophy case, but the respect given to him by Kobe is a worthy replacement.
