Kevin Durant has gone up against many incredible defensive players in the NBA but he believes Tony Allen was the best of the lot. Durant appeared on the latest episode of Allen’s Out The Mud Podcast, where he explained what made him so difficult to play against.
“I wasn’t relaxed playing against you, for sure,” Durant said. “I feel like you’re the best defender that I played against in my career… I talk basketball with all types of people and I tell them every time, no s*** TA the hardest guy to go against, strictly for the fact that you can’t get a screen. The physical aspects on top of it.
“A lot of people talk about your heart and your mentality but let’s talk about the technique too which is important as a defender,” Durant stated. “You skinny up, you don’t get by screens. When you do get hit you keep pursuing the screen, you use your hands well. You play like a lockdown corner.
“Somebody asked me the difference between you and Draymond (Green), ’cause I played with Draymond and I had a lot of battles against you,” Durant continued. “I looked at Draymond sort of like Ed Reed, where he a safety. He gonna be watching every play and you know he behind that defense.
“You more so like Darrelle Revis, Deion (Sanders) where you gonna follow that guy around all the time,” Durant added. “You gonna be a pest. Yeah, they might have a game where they might have a tough catch over the top of you, but, for the most part, they know and you know that you’ve been there the whole game.
“Even if Jerry Rice had a tough game against Deion, he know in his mind that Deion had a good game,” Durant said. “He had to bring out his best and that’s how I felt when I played against you. I had to be on point with everything I did. Detail-wise, catching the ball, my angles, where my foot was, where my jump shot was. So no, I wasn’t relaxed, bro. I was locked in, trying to be the best I could every possession.”
It’s safe to say Durant, 36, wasn’t the only superstar who couldn’t afford to relax when facing Allen. He was an excellent defensive player, having been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and Second Team three times each.
Durant and Allen faced off 24 times in the regular season (12-12 record) and the former averaged 26.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game in those outings. He wasn’t his usual efficient self, though, as he shot 47.9% from the field and 33.1% from beyond the arc.
Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder also faced Allen’s Memphis Grizzlies in three playoff series. While the Grizzlies won 10 games in total compared to nine for the Thunder, OKC won two of the three series.
As usual, Durant put up big numbers in those clashes, as he averaged 28.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. He again wasn’t efficient against Allen, though, as he shot 43.8% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
You will never be able to shut down an all-time great offensive player like Durant, but Allen did about as good a job of slowing him down as anyone has, to date. It wasn’t easy for him by any means, though. In this episode, Allen called the Phoenix Suns superstar the second-hardest player he ever had to guard after Kobe Bryant.
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