In the NBA, the veteran players leading the action night in and night out need to find ways to get role players motivated over the course of the 82-game season, and Hall of Fame Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce knew just how to make that happen during Tony Allen’s first season with the team in 2004-05: cash bounties for every dunk his rookie teammates flushed.
“He wanted to motivate his troops,” shared Allen to the Athletic’s David Aldridge. “He had a bounty, a lucrative $200 for every dunk. I instantly looked at him, being a fan for one. I took the initiative.”
“I thought, this is my application to start. I took advantage,” shared Allen. “I got five dunks in a row.”
“At halftime, I said, ‘Have that thousand for me.’ And he came through. He gave me like $2,500,” shared the former Celtic defensive specialist. “Then he started working out in Chicago with Tim Grover.”
“He made me get up every morning, go to the gym. That was one of the things he instilled in me — if you want to be good in this game, you have to do the things behind the scenes.”
Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ
More Analysis!
Is Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla in over his head as a first-year coach?
Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire