It’s no secret that Tony Allen was an absolute menace as a defender. Everybody from Jamal Crawford to Kobe Bryant has testified that Allen was the nastiest defender they ever had to score on. His six All-Defense awards (three firsts and three seconds) speak to that as well.
"He was the only one that wasn't crying for help."
Kobe says Tony Allen (by far) was the toughest defender for him. Respect. pic.twitter.com/q1FPdCT1wC
But just how good of a perimeter defender was he? Well, according to the esteemed FiveThirtyEight, he was better than MJ and probably the best of the modern era.