Allen: “Lillard needs to understand what’s happening in Milwaukee, move to Giannis’ team”

My first NBA experience against Jordan was terrifying. I have never been scared again in my career. At that moment my nerves were shaken, because in front of me I had – in my opinion to this day – the best player of all time. I was watching the things he was doing and suddenly I was on TV and playing against him, knowing that the whole world is against me. You just go and play basketball though.

He was in control of the game and its spaces. His skills, his mental prowess, the way he moved up and down the floor. In as many years as he played there was no one else who came close to that whole Jordan package. There is no comparison to the players playing now. Score at will.

His athleticism was on another level. If you’ve seen him play or played against him you know he’s the one. There was nothing you could do about it. He was the leader of the pack and you gave him credit, even if you had a personal feud with him.

The 1996 Draft class was very good. There were great talents in her. The class of 1984 was special. And the class of 2003 was very good. I don’t know where this debate can lead us, but I would say that the best one was that of ’84. For what there is no dispute is that I am a “derivative” of Michael Jordan. Growing up I watched the game and tried to imitate his moves in the open field. The same goes for Reggie Miller and all those great players I watched. I have many elements of them in me. I never said I was the best, so the class of 1984 is what raised the players of my generation.

I don’t like comparisons. I always did what I thought I had to do to survive in the League. I wasn’t trying to work harder than someone else. It’s very interesting that LeBron is still playing and I’ve been retired for 9 years. I’m sure I would have stayed with the Heat for 1-2 more years (if LeBron hadn’t left). When we lost the championship in 2014, we just went our separate ways.

Surely people learned about me through the movie ‘He got game’. There are people who don’t like sports but love movies or vice versa. Whenever there is an interaction between sports and movies, it makes people more interested. I love that. I like people who have depth. I’ve always liked people who aren’t afraid to go above and beyond, not for fame or profit, but because they love to do great things.

Denzel Washington was excellent. Having played basketball for so many years, I have always been interested in the concept of a team. I was trying to figure out how to make the team efficient and who is the compass, who is the coach, who are the players, who is the president, etc. At every stage of my life I have tried to understand this. So when we were shooting the movie, Denzel was the star and I had to follow his lead systematically. Spike Lee was the General Manager or the coach.

It helped me understand that sometimes you have to take the shot and sometimes you have to screen. You have to learn what you are required to do in each situation. You can’t always shoot. You have to give the extra pass or do various other things. When you take these virtues that sports teach you and apply them to all aspects of life, you can be a productive member. Not only for your family, but also for the community.