Tony Allen spent the first six years of his NBA career in Boston before signing a three-year deal with the Grizzlies this summer.
That is six years along side Paul Pierce, defending Pierce in practices and watching how he works. Watching him win games for the Celtics and shoot them out of others. Allen soaked it all up. In a wide ranging Q&A with Dime Magazine, Allen came off as Piece’s biggest fan.
“He’s never down. He’s the most confident person in the world. I saw games where he went 3-for-17 and pretty much shot us out of the game. But he always had the confidence and the mentality to say to himself, “You know what? Those odd shots that I missed? I guarantee that I won’t miss them next game.” Then the next game he comes out and probably has 35. The way he deals with consistency and how he practices to be prepared, it’s almost like he has the right to be and has the confidence…He has the right to be selfish because he’s a winner and he definitely knows how to win. That reputation that he had, you have to know him in order to judge him. He’s definitely one of the most confident players that I’ve competed against or that I’ve known….
“He’s not one of the quickest guys in the world. He’s not one of the most athletic guys in the world. But on any given night, you will look up and he will have 30-something points on you. And not only 30-something points, but he will have 10 or 12 rebounds and maybe six or seven assists. I just think with a guy like that, you pretty much can’t give him anything. You can’t give him a wide-open jump shot. You can’t pressure the ball because he knows how to draw fouls and knows how to get defenders in the air with his pump fake. His midrange game is strong and now he’s shooting the three-ball better than ever.”