Rudy Gay still friends with Tony Allen despite 'Grit and Grind' shade
Crisis averted.
San Antonio Spurs forward Rudy Gay said he's still friends with Tony Allen after his former Grizzlies teammate revealed the origin of Memphis' "Grit and Grind" motto was actually a shot at Gay from six years ago.
Still friends tho https://t.co/djnlrq2Ph5
— Rudy Gay (@RudyGay) August 5, 2017
On Friday, Allen told an audience at the Basketball Hall of Fame that he used the "Grit and Grind" line after Gay sat out a 2011 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder with a sore toe. The catchphrase stuck, becoming the Grizzlies' rallying cry for the next several seasons.
Gay has changed teams three times since, while Allen entered unrestricted free agency this summer with a return to Memphis looking unlikely.
According to MassLive's Tom Westerholm, among other nuggets shared by Allen in Springfield was that he still greets former Boston Celtics teammates with the phrase "ubuntu," a South African word referring to a human bond, and that Paul Pierce offered him a $30,000 watch if he made the Rookie Challenge Game in his first year - something he did and collected on.
Allen played for the Celtics from 2004-10 before joining the Grizzlies.