Marcus Smart met Tony Allen long before his Celtics career started

Celtics

They reportedly met at a basketball camp, where a teenaged Smart got a defensive stop that impressed Allen.

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Marcus Smart and Tony Allen met at a top-100 players camp when Smart was in high school, according to Damichael Cole of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

Smart was committed to Allen’s alma mater, Oklahoma State at the time. One of the camp counselors was dominating the campers in 1-on-1 drills.

Smart still remembers the challenge the camp counselor issued.

“Who can stop me? ”the counselor said, according to Smart. “If anybody in here can stop me, let me know.”

Foreshadowing his future as an elite NBA defender, Smart stepped up and got the stop. Allen was there watching, and he was impressed.

“Right then and there, we had that bond,” Smart said. “To see how our careers have been similar is kind of crazy.”

Smart and Allen were both Celtics first-round picks from Oklahoma State. Both won Big 12 Player of the Year and have made the NBA All-Defensive First Team three times. Both ended up in Memphis as their next stop after Boston.

Their careers never overlapped with the Celtics. Allen left as a free-agent in 2010. The Celtics picked Smart four years later in 2014. Smart spent nine seasons in Boston before he was sent to Memphis as part of the Kristaps Porzingis trade.

Allen, who Grizzlies fans sometimes refer to as “The Grandfather,” was a key contributor to the Grit and Grind-era Grizzlies teams along with Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, and Zach Randolph.

He said he’s eager to see how Smart fares in Memphis.

“The grind is back up in effect,” Allen said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Marcus Smart come in and lock down on the perimeter.”

The Grizzlies will rely not just on Smart’s defensive skills, but his playoff experience and leadership skills as well. Smart has an NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award and an NBA Finals appearance under his belt.

The 29-year-old Smart is the third-oldest player on the Grizzlies roster behind former league MVP Derrick Rose (34) and veteran big man Steven Adams, who turns 30 on Thursday.

The team’s core players; two-time all-star Ja Morant, sharpshooter Desmond Bane, and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. are all 25 or younger.

“(The Grizzlies) got a lot of legs, and they’re athletic,” Smart said. “I’m an old man now, so they’re going to make me feel young.”