From Michael Jordan to Stephen Curry, Kobe Bryant has faced some pretty impressive players throughout his NBA career.
But the one guy who gave him the most trouble hasn’t even sniffed an All-Star team.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard continued his retirement tour by sitting down for a one-on-one interview with TNT’s Ernie Johnson. Johnson asked Bryant to name the one player who has come closest to being a “Kobe Stopper” during his 19-plus seasons in the league.
Here was his answer:
Yes, that’s Memphis Grizzlies guard Tony Allen, who has yet to average more than 27 minutes per game in a single season and once went an entire season without hitting a 3-pointer.
Kobe choosing Allen hardly should be a surprise, though, as the 33-year-old veteran is one of the best individual defenders in the league. Allen has been named to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team three times, an honor he had no problem advertising during last season’s playoff matchup against the Golden State Warriors.
Allen gave Bryant fits during his days with the Boston Celtics, and his defensive efforts on the 17-time All-Star during the 2008 NBA Finals helped contribute to the Celtics’ championship. According to Kobe, Allen’s defensive strategy is pretty straightforward.
“He played one-on-one defense,” Bryant told Johnson, via SB Nation. “He never funneled me anywhere. His job was just to stay in front of me and just hound me the entire game, and he did.”
Thumbnail photo via Kelvin Kuo/USA TODAY Sports Images
