Former NBA playerΒ Tony Allen took to Twitter Tuesday to dispute Draymond Greenβs claim that heβs the βbest defender to ever play this game.βΒ
βBIG [cap]!!!Β Who stamped you? Who you clamp!?,β Allen wrote. βIn the words of Jay Z! βWe donβt believe u, u need more people!ββ The three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selectee even tagged Green in his rebuttal to ensure that his tweet is in his mentions.Β
It wasnβt long before Green responded to Allenβs tweet.Β
Draymondβs tweet seems to be in regards to a tactic where the Warriors would allow Allen to shoot, knowing that his jumper wasnβt his strongest asset. They used it in 2015, when the Warriors beat Allenβs Grizzlies to adavnce to the Western Conference Finals en route to a championship. One user provided a screenshot showing howΒ intentionally wide-open they would leave him.Β
Allen then fired back with a tweet clowning Green for the Warriorsβ current rough season.Β
In the 2015 Western Conference semis series where the Warriors won in six games, Allen shot 44.7 percent from the field and 0-3 from three-point range.Β Itβs a bizarre comeback for Draymond becauseΒ teams tend to use the same strategy on him since heβs a career 31.6 percent shooter from beyond the arc.Β Β
Green made the original claim inΒ the latest episode of theΒ Dubs TalkΒ podcast. βOne hundred percent. Thatβs my opinion,β he said.
Draymondβs assertion comes with some notable accomplishments of his own. Heβs also been selected to three All-Defensive First Teams, and was awarded Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.Β
Allen, however, has the distinct honor of being anointed as the best defender the late Kobe Bryant ever faced in his career by the man himself.Β
Bryant publicly reiterated those sentiments during an appearance on Inside the NBA that same year, saying,Β βthe player [he] always had the most trouble with individually was Tony Allen. Always.β
Green, on the other hand, can boast being, as former teammate Andre Igoudala once called him, the Carmelo Anthony of defense. βWhen people ask me who is one of the toughest players to defend, and I say Melo, theyβre always like βReally?,ββΒ IgoudalaΒ said in The Athletic. βMaaaan, Melo, he was a fast fat dude with hops. And can shoot. When he hit you with that first step, it was so quick, and then heβs strong. People need to stop disrespecting Melo. And Draymond is the Melo of defense.β
If awards are the definitive benchmark for these βbest ofβ conversations, then Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace stand to be considered since they are the only twoΒ players to win theΒ Defensive Player of the Year four times. Meanwhile, Tim Duncan holds a sizable lead in the All-Defensive Team honors with 15 selections.Β