Long before Tony Allen built his reputation as the NBA’s premier defender, Danny Ainge was draining jumpers for the Celtics. Ainge played 14 seasons in the league with the Celtics, Suns, Kings, and Blazers, averaging 11.5 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.7 rebounds across 1,042 games. He was a 1988 All-Star and two-time champion—then he

hung up his sneakers to become Boston’s front office architect. These days, he’s running the show as CEO of the Utah Jazz. But back in Boston, Ainge’s intense, no-nonsense training methods kept his players on edge—and if you ask Tony Allen, they still give him flashbacks.

Allen entered the NBA as the No. 25 pick in 2004, landing on the Celtics roster. He spent six seasons with the Celtics, averaging 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists across 336 games. He made his name as a gritty and relentless defender. His breakout came in the 2008 Finals—his lockdown defense helped Boston clinch Banner 17. But beyond the title parades, Allen recalls the grind: bruises, battles, and daily fights for minutes.

On the Out The Mud podcast, Tony Allen opened up about his early years in Boston and what it was really like playing under the pressure of Danny Ainge, who was then the Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations. Ainge wasn’t the kind of exec who sugarcoated things, and Allen felt that heat every day. “I remember Danny Ainge used to keep it so G with me tho, I ain’t gonna lie,” Allen recalled. “He used to be like, ‘TA, what’s up with you?’ I be like, what’s up? He’d be like, ‘Nothing much, just looking for somebody to come take your job.’ He used to flat out tell me that.”

That bluntness lit a fire. Allen already prided himself on defense, but Ainge’s constant push kept him sharper than ever. “So that kept me in the gym, that kept me moving,” Allen said on the podcast. “I’m like, ‘Yo, yeah, somebody’s coming to get me.’ So I always had to stay working, bro, stay ready. You ain’t gotta get ready before the saying even got.” It was pressure, sure—but for TA, it was also motivation.

But Ainge never had to find someone to take his spot—because in 2010, TA made that decision for himself. He left Boston and signed with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he went on to play seven hard-fought seasons and became the heart of the Grit & Grind era.

Why did Tony Allen leave the Celtics?