Jarrett Allen has always been a very intriguing individual. His love of Zelda, LEGOS, anime, and Dungeons & Dragons type games keep him plenty busy off the court.
As it relates to basketball and the NBA, he never shies away. He screams passionately after the team gets whistled for defensive three seconds. He posters anybody who tries to stop his dunks. He also denies other players going to dunk it on him, too.
Allen was recently interviewed by Cyro Asseo of HoopsHype, and was asked to give his all-time starting five. You’re going to want to read ahead for this one.
Jarrett Allen’s all-time personal starting five. Coming right up. To lead with, Allen said the following:
“ I don’t want to give the easy answer about the best players. I’d pick a team based on who I’d enjoy playing with.”
PG: Chris Paul
A pretty easy starting point. Who wouldn’t want Chris Paul as their starting point? CP3 had a legendary NBA career, which came to an unfortunate earlier-than expected end when the Clippers waived him during a tumultuous start to the year.
Allen’s reasoning for wanting the Point God on his squad was “I feel like every big, especially a rim-rolling big, would enjoy that.”
Of course, he’s gotten to play with guys like Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio, and Darius Garland in Cleveland, some of the game’s most impressive passers. He’s thrown down some mammoth jams. A partnership between Allen and Paul sure would have been fun.
SG: Austin Carr
There isn’t a ton of digging needed to be done to explain this one. Austin Carr was the #1 pick by Cleveland in 1971 and has been known as Mr. Cavalier for a long-time now. From his playing years with the franchise to his time spent as both a broadcaster and analyst, he’s not been away much.
With his signature catchphrases and love of the game, it’s hard not to enjoy AC. During his playing days with the team, Carr was a 1X All-Star who averaged 16-3-3 on 45% shooting. He also holds the record (STILL) for most points in a March Madness game with 61. This happened before the three-point line was introduced, by the way.
Jarrett Allen and Carr have known each other for a long time now within the organization. It’s a nice touch from JA.
SF: Ray Allen
One of the greatest shooters of all-time and the one-time record-holder for most 3PT makes, Ray Allen will space the floor for this team. If he was playing in the modern era, it’s hard to imagine just how many triples he would be making.
He was an All-NBA level player with the Sonics. He helped the Celtics and Heat to win a title with his spacing and defense, turning it up whenever they needed it. Jarrett Allen knows a sensational shooter when he sees one.
Current Cavalier James Harden passed Allen on the 3’s made list a few years ago, leaving the Hall-of-Famer in the #3 spot.
PF: Dean Wade
Simple explanation from Jarrett Allen on why he wants Dean Wade starting? “That’s my boy.”
Allen was in fact in Wade's wedding, and the two were teammates for 5.5 seasons together in Cleveland. Though #32 is off to Philly and actually wearing #45 now, the two will likely still be staying just as in touch, when possible.
Wade wasn’t much of a scorer, but always held it down on the defensive end. Perhaps in this lineup though, he’s the version that scored 20 points in the fourth quarter against Boston to lead a furious comeback.
Favorites can always start in the personal starting five with no judgment.
C: Jarrett Allen
Well yeah, Jarrett Allen is starting at center. This is his lineup, after all. The rim-rocker, dunk swatter, and occasional three-point marksman rounds it out. He was an All-Star in 2021-22 and is hoping to continue to stay hot as he comes into year 7 (6.5) with Cleveland.
Allen has now been to four straight postseasons with the organization. He’s more of a vet now than the young player he was when he first arrived. And he’s a real part of the core that has championship expectations.
With this hypothetical all-time five, he should throw down plenty of dunks on lobs from Chris Paul, too.
How Many Wins?
Over an 82-game stretch, what record would you give Jarrett Allen’s starting five?
Chris Paul, Austin Carr, Ray Allen, Dean Wade, Jarrett Allen
Is this a playoff group? Play-In? Are they re-tooling through the lottery?
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