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Jeff Teague: It’s a persona. Like the first couple times he made it, he was locking up, he was killing, strapping up. He probably did that for two or three seasons, and then it just became a thing: “Kobe plays defense.” But Tony Allen and them dudes played defense. So you think Kobe Bryant, who’s shooting 40 shots, is also out here playing defense? He was competitive. But that don’t mean he was locking up. That’s why they had Metta World Peace — ‘cause when the best players start cooking…"
Lights, camera, layup. The NBA Summer League is giving athletes another shot that takes place behind the camera. With assists from Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett and Hollywood power players Mark Wahlberg and Deon Taylor, the Summer League Film Festival is coming back starting July 17 in Las Vegas. The three-day festival will bring big-screen storytelling through 34 selected projects, spotlighting stories produced by NBA stars past and present including Nikola Jokic, Luguentz Dort, Tony Allen, Nate Robinson, Cole Anthony, Keyon Dooling and Udonis Haslem.
Tony Allen on Cooper Flagg: 'I’m seeing Andrei Kirilenko, bro'
But, Allen said he isn’t seeing anything in his skill set that would place him amongst the elite in the NBA. “I ain’t seeing [Kevin Durant]. I’m just not seeing all that,” Allen said. “I’m seeing Andrei Kirilenko, bro.” Kirilenko, whom Allen compared Flagg to, made an All-Star team in 2004 and was a first-team All-Defensive selection in 2006. He played more than a decade in the NBA, mostly with the Utah Jazz. He was a late first-round pick who wound up averaging 11.8 points per game in his career. Kirilenko had a lengthy and successful career both in the NBA, and overseas, but the expectations surrounding a potential No. 1 overall pick are different. “He’s going to be a one-time All-Star,” Allen said. “I don’t see it. I’m just not hyped on these Duke kids. Look at the couple that came out, besides Jayson Tatum.”
Former Boston Celtics wing Tony Allen, regarded as one of the top defenders of his era, has major doubts about Flagg at the next level. In an appearance on GrindCityMedia’s YouTube channel, Allen said he does not view Flagg as a franchise-changing player, and predicted the Duke star would not win Rookie of the Year in 2026. “I don’t think Cooper Flagg’s going to turn a franchise around like that,” Allen said. “I ain’t seeing KD. I’m just not seeing all that. I’m seeing Andrei Kirilenko. “He’s going to be a one-time All-Star. I don’t see it, bro. I’m just not hyped on these Duke kids. He is nice, but his max-out potential is Andrei Kirilenko.”
By the end of 2019, Tidal League launched its first show: Court-Side Moms, hosted by Wendy Sparks, mother of former NBA center Khem Birch, who interviews moms of other NBA players, including Luka Dončić, Damian Lillard, and Chris Paul. Still, it wasn’t until 2022 that Tidal League got its first real break, when Theo Pinson joined with his Run Your Race podcast. The company’s most popular podcast is Out The Mud, a show hosted by Grizzlies greats Zach Randolph and Tony Allen, which Kent Benson says reached more than 50 million views in its first six months. “We went from a business that was doing no revenue to—in 2022—we did over $1 million in revenue,” Benson tells Front Office Sports. “So we went from $0 to $1 million in a year.”
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Last week, the company announced new investments from Charlie Villanueva, Eric Ebron, Justin Jackson, and another NBA veteran, Devonte’ Graham. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Benson tells FOS that the minimum investment is $100,000. “As an entrepreneur, it was a no-brainer to invest in a media company,” Villanueva says. “It gives you the opportunity to have ownership in something that comes easy. It’s easy to talk about basketball because we’ve done it.” The company isn’t done raising money. It’s now in the process of seeking out its first institutional investor, with the aim of amassing $5 million.
Tony Allen didn't talk to Marc Gasol for days after he won Defensive Player of the Year
MARC GASOL: I’m like, ‘What’s wrong with TA?’ He won’t talk to me. We get on the bus, he’s pouting and shit. I’m like, ‘What the fuck?’ They gave it to us. They gave it to me. I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He mad. TONY ALLEN: I’d been politicking to get that award all year, bro. I’m talking about I’m even keeping in tune with the analytics people. I’m like, ‘Yo, they saying I can get it. They saying I can get it.’ And then Train comes in the locker room and was like, ‘TA, come here for a second.’ Grabbed me by the arm. I just know he’s about to tell me something exciting. He was like, ‘Well, we got some good news and some bad news. Which one you want first?’ I said, ‘I want the good news.’ He said, ‘Well, you did make First Team All-Defense.’ I said, ‘Yeah, okay.’ He said, ‘But you didn’t win DPOY.’ It blew me. I’m like, ‘Who won it?’ He said, ‘Marc.’ I said, ‘Oh, hell no.’ Marc got about a four-day mute action. He got some “what up” with a whole lot of “what up.” MARC GASOL: I said, ‘What the fuck did I do, brother?’ TONY ALLEN: I knew for a fact we were the best defensive team that whole year. You couldn’t score on us. No trick plays, no out-of-timeout bullshit, no ISO plays. Nothing. You couldn’t do shit with me and dude in that pick and roll.”
Tony Allen on fighting for his spot in the League: "Before I got here, I thought a lot of times when teams come here, they probably marked us as a W every time. But I wanted to change that narrative by playing hard, paying attention to detail, and understanding that we going to compete. And we can just about beat anybody once we play hard and play together."
"Fill in the blank: You’re a top ___ defender in NBA history." Tony Allen: "I'm the top. First-team all-time. I had to guard Joe Johnson, then KD, then Kobe — no rest! I didn’t get to guard the Terence Rosses of the world. Bigs don’t have to do that. They guard Nazr Mohammed one night, then someone else low key. I had to stop dudes from getting their averages."
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Tony Allen: The next day, man, when he brought those gloves, we had a guy named Patrick O’Bryant on the team. He handed Patrick O’Bryant the gloves, brought everybody in the weight room, and said, 'If anybody got any secret smoke, we letting it out right now.' So guys started picking out who they had secret smoke with. Ray Allen and Rondo — they chose each other. And before you know it — they were scrapping. A good minute and a half scrap.
Tony Allen on almost getting shot as a teenager: 'A couple bullets went past my head'
Tony Allen on almost getting shot as a teenager: ‘I needed to keep these Air Force 1 fresh so the only way I could do that if I gamble, so I gamble in the in lunch classes… By the time I looked up the school day was over, so I wasn't even really going to school, and then you know that led to another thing, being outside. And when you outside you know what come with that, so by the time I looked up bro, I saw my life flash before me, because I was outside bro, I was hustling, I ain't going to hold you, and a couple bullets went past my head, and that was my turning point saying ‘you know what man, this ain't for me, I'm 6’5, 6’4, doing all this like this, ain't me, and till this day I don't even speak to my cousin cuz of the type of time he had me on, he got me out here doing this sh*t.
Tony Allen: A lot of people don't know this, but I backed up Rondo as a point guard. Nate Robinson was also a point guard, but he was playing around too much. Doc Rivers told him, "Man, you will never play another game in a Celtics uniform." Damn. He played too much. Nate Robinson was that type of guy, man—listen. Nate Robinson was the type of dude who, if you left something in the locker room, he’d take your outfit and put it up on the board. Right there—where the matchups, the opponent's plays, and the game diagrams were. And right underneath it, he’d write: "Who the hell wore this?" with an arrow pointing at the outfit. Guys would go get their shots up, come back, and see their outfit on display. By the time they got to their locker, they’d be looking around like, "Man, what the hell?"
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