‘This Boy Real’: Former NBA Champion Tony Allen Recollects First Encounter with Lakers’ Talen Horton-Tucker

During his playing days, former NBA champion Tony Allen was arguably the best defender around. The six-time All-Defensive team player would lock up everyone’s favorite player, and it is not a surprise that Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant named him the best defender he had faced. So praise coming from Allen is always real and holds value.

Lakers youngster Talen Horton-Tucker has caught the headlines with his recent performances. Allen praised Tucker and also recollected his first encounter with him.

Allen said, “I saw him in the G-League one day. He was killing it; he had like 29 at half time. I’m like, ‘He with us.’ He then looked at me and said, ‘I don’t even belong out here.’ He hit a three next play and looked dead at me. I said, ‘this boy real.’ So to see him do this, I saw him do that to us in the G-League against the Hustle. I said something to him and he had like 38 that game. So to see him do this right here, this kid been working on his game.”

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Talen Horton-Tucker has climbed up the ladder for the Lakers

The incident Allen shared is from January 17 earlier this year, when the South Bay Lakers took on the Memphis Hustle. That was also Allen’s first day with the Hustle as a player development coach.

The game ended in a 136-152 loss for Tucker’s Lakers, but he stole the show with his 37-point performance. He was also playing at power forward, which is not his primary position. Along with 37 points, he also grabbed nine rebounds and six assists as he asserted his dominance, and proved that he deserved to play at a higher level.

In his rookie season, Tucker played mostly in the G-League and barely featured with the Lakers. He played six regular-season games and two playoff games. He made history during their title run, becoming the youngest American player to win the NBA title.

Tucker has started preseason strongly and will be aiming to carry this momentum into the regular season. Tucker will be doing his best to earn his place into the Lakers’ rotation and contribute more as the Lakers go for a repeat.