Tony Allen: There was no greater feeling than beating Doc Rivers

Tony Allen: “It wasn’t a bigger feeling than beating Doc, I’m not even going to lie. Like I said man, I’ve told this on many websites, many podcasts. You know, I was in Boston before I came to Memphis. Like I said, I asked Doc and Danny Ainge: ‘Hey man, give me a third year.’ They wanted to re-sign me to the same deal, but they had too much faith in Nate Robinson; Shout out to Nate Robinson. However, after winning the championship and reaching the finals, I thought I was included in the team. I thought I was Celtics family, you know what I’m saying? “So, with Doc on the other side, it felt like it was my job to come here to Memphis and rebound them, work hard, beat those guys, send them fishing. It meant more, you know, ‘what am I saying?’ Not only that, but I felt: ‘Doctor, damn it, you should have been there for me, brother.’ Even today when I see him over the fence I still feel like I want to beat Doc, you know?

Source: YouTube

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Tony Allen: “Then he looks Z-Bo dead in the face. He says: ‘Z-Bo, the important thing is to get a (clear) rebound! Stop telling Mike to go out to get the rebound!’ ‘Damn it!’ Then he looks at Marc (Gasol) deadpan and says: ‘Marc, who told you we had Sabonis? I’m sitting there like, ‘Damn, coach is number one.’ Then he looks at Mike Conley and says, ‘Mike Conley, do you know what happened?’ he says. I swear Coach was on everyone else that day, but I respected that because it was tough love. That’s the type of energy I was looking for, and it made me want to walk through the wall.” -via YouTube / 24 November 2024

Allen was a guest at Grind City Media in Memphis this week. The conversation touched on his final year in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans. Allen only played 22 games with the team, but he was able to learn everything about the organization, good and bad. He told it all in a hilarious episode that left the rest of the cast unable to control their laughter. The episode starts with Allen calling former Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry “one of the worst coaches in the world” and goes completely off the rails from there. After Allen finished making fun of the coaching staff, his ownership was roasted. “Whatever the saints did not eat, we took the leftovers,” he said. -through SB Nation / October 2, 2024

Allen is a national treasure. The part about Gentry: “He wasn’t making any plays!” – everyone on the set had stitches. According to Allen, Gentry was “so old” that he forgot what he wanted to say to the players in the meeting. “Okay team 3, what is the name of the team?” -through SB Nation / October 2, 2024

This article was first published on Hoops Hype: Tony Allen: There was no greater feeling than beating Doc Rivers