During his 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant faced many of the greatest perimeter defenders in the history of the NBA. From Scottie Pippen and Ron Artest to Gary Payton and Tayshaun Prince, Kobe squared off with legendary defenders. But as far as he was concerned, his greatest opponent was Tony Allen.
Allen spent most of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies and was a three-time First Team All-Defensive selection. He was known for being a tenacious defender with great hands and Bryant greatly respected him because he rarely asked for help, always preferring to take on his opponent 1-on-1.
Bryant and Allen faced off many times over the years and in a recent appearance on “The OGs” podcast with Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller was asked about a favorite Kobe story. Allen would go on to speak about being surprised to hear Bryant begin talking to Lakers’ teammate Pau Gasol in Spanish, and ultimately realizing why:
Tony Allen’s hilarious Kobe Bryant story 🤣 pic.twitter.com/5h3lHy8DmK
— The OGs Show (@theOGsShow) June 10, 2025
Kobe’s ability to speak both Spanish and Italian did give him a bit of an advantage and allowed him to communicate with his Lakers teammates without the opposition knowing what was being said. But kudos to Allen for recognizing this and realizing that there was likely some sort of audible coming with Bryant suddenly speaking in Spanish to Gasol.
It is the little details that separate the greats from the true legends of the sport. Kobe was always going to use anything he could to his advantage to ensure he came out on top and he loved to embrace the biggest challenges against the best. Allen was one of those challenges and he showed why as he was not only prepared physically, but also mentally, doing everything he could to limit Bryant.
Some players were just the perfect matchup for each other, relishing in the chance to beat the other straight up, one-on-one. For Kobe, that ideal matchup who would meet him at the highest level in every facet was Allen.
Jalen Williams sees similarities between Shai Gilgious-Alexander & Kobe Bryant
NBA MVP Shai Gilgious-Alexander put forth one of the best and most efficient scoring seasons by a perimeter player, statistically on par with the likes of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. The Thunder guard has drawn comparisons to the Lakers legend and his teammate Jalen Williams agrees and sees a lot of similarities between the two.
“I feel like if you are really paying attention to basketball and watch the way he plays, there’s a lot of similarities,” Williams said prior to Game 2 of the NBA Finals. “It’s cool that he can pick certain aspects of his game to mimic that a little bit and then add his own touch to it. That shows the player that he is, to be able to steal bits and pieces from his favorite players and be able to put it into a game and work on it. There’s a lot of work behind the scenes that goes into him being able to do that.”
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