Tony Allen doesn’t miss playing for Alvin Gentry and the Pelicans — not even a little bit.
Allen, whose NBA career spanned from 2005-18, joined “The Chris Vernon Show” on the Grizzlies’ Grind City Media network on Tuesday and laid waste to his time with the Pelicans during the 2017-18 season.
“Yeah, he was one of the worst coaches in the world,” Allen said, referring to Gentry.
“He was old, man. [He used to] forget speeches like, ‘Fellas, now when we … What they doing wrong?’ He be like, ‘Fellas, we all got a rebound and uh … What else they did? Oh yeah, get back in transition,” Allen recalled.
The Pelicans are owned by the Benson family, who also own the Saints, and Allen talked about how the Pelicans were a clear second fiddle.
“Sometimes we had practice on the football field. We shooting baskets in the goal [post]… Whatever the Saints didn’t eat, we got the leftovers. Shoutout to the Pelicans. That’s the worst organization,” he said.
Allen started his career with the Celtics and gained a great affinity with the Grizzlies fan base as a defensive stopper.
In seven seasons in Memphis, Allen made the NBA’s all-defensive team six times.
In a 2018 interview, Kobe Bryant answered without hesitation that Allen was the best defender he ever faced in his prolific NBA career.
“Tony Allen, that’s easy, it was Tony Allen,” Bryant said.
“He was the only one that wasn’t crying for help, he was never crying for help, saying, ‘Hey, help down here, I need help, double, double’. Tony Allen would play you straight up, I could score 10 straight on him, and he’s not blinking. He’s still there, he’s still playing defense, he’s still being physical, he’s not backing down. Tony Allen, by far. I would used to finish playing against Tony Allen and I had scratch marks everywhere and I loved it.”
Last month, the Grizzlies announced that they will be retiring Allen’s No. 9 before they face the Heat on March 15, 2025.
