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Marcus Smart Shares Incredible Story With Grizzlies Legend

Marcus Smart revealed the first time he ever met Tony Allen.

Marcus Smart and Tony Allen share a ton of similarities with each other. They're two defensive monsters both playing for the Celtics and then coming to the Memphis Grizzlies, but they actually share an even deeper bond.

During Smart's first press conference with Grizzlies media, he shared a fantastic story about the first time ever met Tony Allen. It was during Smart's top 100 camp when he was in high school and went 1-on-1 against the top scorer in the camp.

"When I first met Tony Allen, I was at the top 100 camp when I was in high school, and he was one of the counselors," Smart said. "We were playing 1-on-1, and I forgot who it was, but one of the guys was going off. He was like 'who can stop me? Anyone in hear can stop me let me know!' I'm looking around like, 'that's me!' So, I step up, and I'm like 'I got him, don't even worry about it, everyone else can sit down.' He goes 'who are you? Okay, that's Oklahoma State right there.'"

Once Smart actually got the defensive stop, that's when he and Tony Allen's relationship truly began.

"Then I got the stop and the gym goes crazy, Tony is going crazy," Smart said. "He's like, 'I already knew it, he's going to Oklahoma State, he's got that dog in him!' You know how Tony is talking, he's going in. Right then and there, we had that bond. To see how our careers have been similar is crazy."

Stories like this between veteran players and young players are the backbone of what makes the NBA great. It's a brotherhood that goes beyond basketball, and hopefully, that moment will only strengthen Marcus Smart's connection to the city of Memphis

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