Anthony Allen (born January 11, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), primarily for the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies. Nicknamed "the Grindfather", he is a six-time member on the NBA All-Defensive Team, including three first-team selections. Allen won an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Known for his suffocating on-ball pressure, he is widely regarded as one of the best defenders in NBA history.
College career
Junior college (2000–2002)
Allen attended Crane High School in Chicago, where he played alongside fellow future NBA player Will Bynum. As a college freshman in 2000–01, Allen averaged 16.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 steals in 32 games (31 starts) for Butler County Community College. He was subsequently named Second Team All-Jayhawk West Conference and the Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year. On January 7, 2007, Allen recorded 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 steals in a road loss to the Orlando Magic. In a contest against the Indiana Pacers on January 10, 2007, Allen suffered a season-ending tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) of his left knee; In his third season, Allen averaged career-highs of 11.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
Allen recovered in time for the start of the 2007–08 season. In his first game after the injury, Allen scored 4 points and grabbed 5 rebounds during a victory over the visiting Washington Wizards. In his first double-digit scoring output since the injury, Allen recorded 13 points in a win over the New Jersey Nets on November 14. He scored a season-high 20 points in a home game win versus the Memphis Grizzlies. Almost four weeks later, Allen tied his season high during a road victory over the Miami Heat. Allen scored 18 points to go along with 4 rebounds in a February 20 road loss to the Golden State Warriors. At the end of the regular season, he averaged 6.6 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 18.3 minutes over 75 games (11 starts). He substantially contributed to the Celtics' successful playoff run that led to an NBA Finals berth, where they claimed the 2008 NBA Championship after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers in six games. Allen went on to average 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.17 steals in 19.3 minutes in 46 games (two starts) in his fifth season with the Celtics. reportedly worth $9.7 million. Two weeks after signing with the Grizzlies, Allen revealed he felt 'overshadowed' in Boston by teammates Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, and Ray Allen.
Allen emerged as one of the league's premier perimeter defenders in his first season with Memphis, averaging 1.79 steals and helping the Grizzlies lead the NBA in steals and forced turnovers. Allen was subsequently named to the 2010–11 NBA All-Defensive Second Team, marking his first and the Grizzlies' first selection to an All-Defensive Team and finished fourth in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year.
2012–13 season
In 2012–13, Allen led all players receiving votes for the NBA All-Defensive teams, marking his second-straight First Team All-Defense honor and third consecutive NBA All-Defense selection. He finished fifth in balloting for 2012–13 Defensive Player of the Year after averaging a career-high 4.6 rebounds and 1.51 steals in 26.7 minutes in a career-high 79 games (all starts). During the 2013 playoffs, Allen averaged playoff career highs across the board with 10.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.0 steals in 28.1 minutes in 15 postseason games, helping Memphis advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Allen concluded his fourth season in Memphis and 10th in the NBA with averages of 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.64 steals on .494 shooting in 23.2 minutes in 55 games (28 starts). He missed 27 games due to injury, illness, or league suspension.
2015–16 season
In May 2016, Allen was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the 2015–16 season, marking the fifth career All-Defensive selection for Allen in six seasons with the Grizzlies. Allen averaged 8.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.72 steals in 25.3 minutes in 64 games (57 starts) for Memphis in 2015–16. He was tied for the NBA lead with Minnesota's Ricky Rubio in steals per 48 minutes (3.3) among players with a minimum of 1,500 total minutes played. The Grizzlies' defensive rating was 2.2 points better with Allen on the floor (104.1) than with him off the floor (106.3). In addition, Allen led the team with 1.7 steals per game.
2016–17 season
On June 26, 2017, Allen was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for the 2016–17 season, marking the sixth career All-Defensive selection for Allen, having now been recognized on the NBA All-Defensive Teams six times in his seven seasons with the Grizzlies. Allen appeared in 71 games (66 starts) for Memphis in 2016–17, averaging 9.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and a team-leading 1.62 steals in 27 minutes per game. He led the league in steal percentage (3.1), his second time to lead the league in the category (4.1 in 2014–15).
On October 12, 2017, the Grizzlies announced they will retire Allen's No. 9 jersey when he retires.
New Orleans Pelicans (2017–2018)
On September 15, 2017, Allen signed with the New Orleans Pelicans. On November 1, 2017, he had a season-high 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench in a 104–98 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. On December 10, 2017, against the Philadelphia 76ers, Allen suffered a fractured left fibula. He was nearing a return in mid-January, but on January 15, he was sidelined for another two to four weeks after suffering a setback during his recovery.
On February 1, 2018, Allen was traded, along with Ömer Aşık, Jameer Nelson, and a protected first-round pick, to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Nikola Mirotić and a 2018 second-round pick. In addition, Chicago will have the right to swap its 2021 second-round pick with New Orleans' own 2021 second-round pick. Allen was waived by the Bulls eight days later before appearing in a game for them.
NBA career statistics
Regular season
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Boston
| 77 || 34 || 16.4 || .475 || .387 || .737 || 2.9 || .8 || 1.0 || .3 || 6.4
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Boston
| 51 || 9 || 19.2 || .471 || .324 || .746 || 2.2 || 1.3 || 1.0 || .4 || 7.2
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Boston
| 33 || 18 || 24.4 || .514 || .242 || .784 || 3.8 || 1.7 || 1.5 || .4 || 11.5
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| †
| align="left" | Boston
| 75 || 11 || 18.3 || .434 || .316 || .762 || 2.2 || 1.5 || .8 || .3 || 6.6
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Boston
| 46 || 2 || 19.3 || .482 || .222 || .725 || 2.3 || 1.4 || 1.2 || .5 || 7.8
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Boston
| 54 || 8 || 16.5 || .510 || .000 || .605 || 2.7 || 1.3 || 1.1 || .4 || 6.1
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Memphis
| 72 || 31 || 20.8 || .510 || .174 || .753 || 2.7 || 1.4 || 1.8 || .6 || 8.9
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Memphis
| 58 || 57 || 26.3 || .469 || .308 || .800 || 4.0 || 1.4 || 1.8 || .6 || 9.8
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Memphis
| 79 || 79 ||26.7 || .445 || .125 || .717 || 4.6 || 1.2 || 1.5 || .6 || 8.9
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Memphis
| 55 || 28 || 23.2 || .494 || .234 || .628 || 3.8 || 1.7 || 1.6 || .3 || 9.0
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Memphis
| 63 || 41 || 26.2 || .495 || .345 || .627 || 4.4 || 1.4 || 2.0 || .5 || 8.6
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Memphis
| 64 || 57 || 25.3 || .458 || .357 || .652 || 4.6 || 1.1 || 1.7 || .3 || 8.4
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | Memphis
| 71 || 66 || 27.0 || .461 || .278 || .615 || 5.5 || 1.4 || 1.6 || .4 || 9.1
|-
| align="left" |
| align="left" | New Orleans
| 22 || 0 || 12.4 || .484 || .333 || .524 || 2.1 || .4 || .5 || .1 || 4.7
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="center" colspan="2"| Career
| 820 || 441 || 22.0 || .475 || .282 || .709 || 3.5 || 1.3 || 1.4 || .4 || 8.1
Playoffs
|-
| align="left" | 2005
| align="left" | Boston
| 7 || 3 || 12.9 || .444 || .000 || .429 || 1.7 || .3 || .4 || .3 || 2.7
|-
| style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2008†
| align="left" | Boston
| 15 || 0 || 4.3 || .563 || .000 || .400 || .2 || .2 || .1 || .0 || 1.3
|-
| align="left" | 2009
| align="left" | Boston
| 10 || 0 || 6.0 || .500 || .000 || 1.000 || .9 || .3 || .2 || .0 || .9
|-
| align="left" | 2010
| align="left" | Boston
| 24 || 0 || 16.3 || .480 || .000 || .778 || 1.7 || .7 || 1.0 || .6 || 5.1
|-
| align="left" | 2011
| align="left" | Memphis
| 13 || 13 || 26.9 || .426 || .143 || .659 || 2.9 || 1.5 || 1.9 || .4 || 8.8
|-
| align="left" | 2012
| align="left" | Memphis
| 7 || 7 || 24.3 || .400 || .000 || .706 || 3.1 || .7 || 1.3 || 1.0 || 6.9
|-
| align="left" | 2013
| align="left" | Memphis
| 15 || 15 || 28.1 || .432 || .250 || .759 || 6.1 || 1.8 || 2.0 || .3 || 10.3
|-
| align="left" | 2014
| align="left" | Memphis
| 7 || 1 || 32.9 || .486 || .000 || .762 || 7.7 || 1.3 || 1.7 || .1 || 12.3
|-
| align="left" | 2015
| align="left" | Memphis
| 10 || 9 || 27.9 || .491 || .143 || .750 || 5.2 || 1.5 || 2.4 || 1.1 || 6.6
|-
| align="left" | 2016
| align="left" | Memphis
| 4 || 2 || 23.5 || .303 || .143 || .692 || 2.8 || .8 || 1.3 || .5 || 7.5
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="center" colspan="2"| Career
| 112 || 50 || 19.2 || .447 || .106 || .716 || 3.0 || .9 || 1.2 || .4 || 6.0
Player profile
Standing at 6 feet 4 inches tall (1.93 m) and weighing 213 pounds (97 kg), Allen played both the shooting guard and small forward positions. Allen was known as an elite, all-purpose defender and was often assigned to defend high-scoring swingmen, making it uncomfortable for players to score against him. Allen was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team six out of seven times from to .
On February 26, 2016, in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant presented Allen with an autographed pair of shoes that read, "To Tony, the best defender I ever faced!" Both players were inactive for the game.
As a Boston Celtic, Allen was given the nickname "Gucci" by his teammates. With the Grizzlies, he earned the nickname "Grindfather."
Personal life
Allen is the son of Ella Allen. He has two sisters, Ebony and Dominique, and a brother, Ryan, who played on the Grizzlies' 2012 Summer League squad following a four-year collegiate career at Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He was found not guilty at trial in April 2007.
On October 7, 2021, Allen was indicted for insurance fraud in the Southern District of New York for allegedly defrauding the NBA's health and welfare benefit plan. On August 8, 2023, Allen was sentenced to three years of probation and community service with supervision, avoiding prison altogether, due to him paying back most of the $420,000 he had taken illegally before being arrested. The arrest in 2021 was considered the biggest reason for why Allen's #9 wasn't retired during the 2021–22 season alongside teammate Zach Randolph and instead was delayed until March 15, 2025, against the Miami Heat.
On November 28, 2021, Allen was charged with domestic assault, domestic vandalism, and interference with emergency calls in connection with an incident involving his wife. In January 2022, the charges were dismissed.
On November 5, 2025 Allen was arrested in Arkansas and charged with multiple drug offenses. According to police, Allen was a passenger in a vehicle when the Poinsett County Sheriff's Department stopped it on Interstate 555 near Memphis. During a search of the vehicle, police found controlled substances and drug paraphernalia. Both Allen and the driver were arrested.