Former Celtics guard Ray Allen has played with some legends of the game, and when he joined “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday, he voiced his choice for this year’s MVP — Joel Embiid.
The Hall of Famer described what makes a player an MVP, noting their presence on the team and what would happen if that player was removed.
“It’s the aura that player has when they are on the floor with their teammates,” Allen said. “When I was in Boston, (Kevin Garnett) was that player. We were so much better with him on the floor because he intimidated other players.”
When Patrick asked Allen to elaborate on how Garnett would intimidate players, Allen’s response was
“Do you need to pull up some clips right now?” Allen asked
Allen’s description of Garnett garnered some laughs from himself and Patrick.
“His stature because he’s 7 feet tall and being long, screaming and yelling and intimidating,” Allen said. “Just dunking the ball and screaming. A lot of young players coming into the league, that intimidates them.”
Allen explained that when he was first coming into the league, he was intimidated by players such as Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller and Clyde Drexler. He remembered thinking preseason was just as important as the regular season.
The story he told was about a preseason game he played against Stephon Marbury and Garnett. Allen explained that he and Marbury were talking about how good they were because of the numbers they were putting up in the preseason, and recalled Garnett putting them in their place.
“(He) looks at us and goes, ‘Man, these guys aren’t playing hard. They don’t play hard in preseason. Don’t get all beside yourself, thinking you’re great,'” Allen said. “I did learn later that it’s just feeling out the process in preseason.”
Allen won an NBA championship with the Celtics and the Miami Heat, but the former Seattle Supersonic still has fond memories of playing in Key Arena and talked about the importance of the NBA putting a franchise back in Emerald City.
“Most people look at it as a franchise or a professional team,” Allen said. “But it’s a community resource. … It helps kids dream or aspire to be greater than what they see in the community.”
The NBA has been looking to expand, but to date, there has not been a definitive plan.
