Slam Magazine – July 2019

THE

FUTURE

ISSUE

J

ARRETT ALLEN was im-

mortalized on December 18,

not even two minutes into

LeBron James’ first game

at Barclays Center as a Los

Angeles Laker. If you like bas-

ketball, you know the play. James caught

a pass at the top of the key, made two

strong dribbles with his left hand, then

blasted his brick-solid body toward the

basket with enough speed and force to

clap a sonic boom. What happened next

felt like reality malfunctioning.

As LeBron reached for the sky with

his right arm extended, Allen—the 6-11

(opulent afro not included), 21-year-old

starting center on the Brooklyn Nets—

bent his knees, thrust his massive right

hand into the air, and, nearly a foot away

from the basket, cancelled the dunk. This

was exquisitely timed electricity, with a

degree of difficulty that rivals shoving

toothpaste back into a tube while doing

jumping jacks.

It enhanced Allen’s visibility and, dare

it be said, changed his life. A bashful soul,

he submits to this new reality even when

it gets a little annoying. Double takes

and shout outs are now inescapable on

strolls through his Brooklyn neighbor-

hood, up the aisles of the Gowanus Whole

Foods he frequents to buy food he’ll cook

later. When spotted in public, Allen does

his best to leave before anyone can make

a scene or even realize exactly who he

is. The increased attention doesn’t upset

him, but it’s clear he’s most comfortable

in the background. And in his mind, that’s

also where his block on LeBron probably

belongs.

“I don’t want to be that guy to make it

like ‘I blocked LeBron!’ and then post it

on Twitter,” Allen tells us. “I don’t want to

be that guy. I’m still respecting him. He’s

an amazing player, I just made the play

on him.”

Sitting on a folding chair inside the

Nets’ Sunset Park practice facility a cou-

ple months later, Allen appreciates the

glow that still surrounds that moment,

but it comes with a tint of embarrass-

ment, crossed with the even-keeled

modesty that defines him. In response to

more questions about it—along with his

heart-stopping, at-the-rim stuffs against

Blake Griffin, James Harden, Anthony

Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo—Allen

adopts the tone of a bored contrabas-

soon: “That’s what I’m here for. That’s

what I want to help my team with. So I’m

not really super ecstatic about it. I mean,

I’m happy about it, but I’m not gonna, like,

jump out of my seat or whatever.”

Bring Allen up with almost anyone

around the Nets and “quiet” is the

first word that’s used to describe him.

“I’m never really the one to outwardly

converse and start up a conversation,”

he says. (While growing up in Austin, TX,

Allen’s general demeanor led people to

call him Tim Duncan Jr.) That oak-tree

stoicism doesn’t go anywhere when he’s

on the court, but it’s complemented by

a critical fearlessness. Allen throws

himself into unforgiving airborne clashes

that promise to live on forever, in one

form or another, whether he’s victori-

ous or not. “Giannis was like that,” Nets

forward Jared Dudley says. “When I

played with Giannis four years ago, he

would get dunked on once every four or

five games. He didn’t care. Jarrett Allen

doesn’t care.”

Already one of the League’s most

Second-year center Jarrett Allen may not be the most talked-about player on the

young, fun Brooklyn Nets, but the 21-year-old has already proven that he’s gonna

be a force in the NBA for a while.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++WORDS MICHAEL PINA

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