"In the next game, KD was the most active defensively": Grayson Allen on playing with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Giannis and more (Exclusive)

Beyond marveling at Giannis Antetokounmpo’s athleticism and power, Grayson Allen spent the past two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks admiring how Antetokounmpo spent his practices consistently competing against assistant coaches and video coordinators so he could train with more intensity.

Beyond respecting Kevin Durant for his prolific and efficient scoring, Allen has spent his first season with the Phoenix Suns observing how Durant consistently spends practices working on his shooting both with and without wearing shoes.

“Those guys get in game-speed reps every day,” Allen told Sportskeeda. “They’re in their mode in practice. They go at game speed.”

Grayson Allen interview (Exclusive)

Allen spoke to Sportskeeda about various topics, including Devin Booker’s playmaking, Bradley Beal managing his early injuries and the Suns’ Big 3. Allen also spoke about his own role and how he tries to make life easier for Phoenix’s stars.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one interview has been condensed and edited.

KD, Book and Brad have all had overlapping injuries. But in the small size they’ve had time together, what’s your impressions on how they’ve made it work so far?

Grayson Allen:

“Our first couple of games when Brad came back and played a full game or two, our offense was instant. We were zipping the ball. We were overpassing, almost. We had some possessions the first couple of games that were just beautiful, great basketball possessions. It’s not always going to be like that. There are going to be learning curves and getting used to each other. But seeing that so early on and right away was awesome to see."

"Those three guys are complete basketball players. They score from every spot: rim, midrange, 3. They’re passers. They’re drivers. They’re playmakers. So when you put that together, there is not a lot of stagnant offense. We can still do that sometimes because those guys can iso and score the ball at a high level. But when those three guys are being playmakers, it’s a lot of fun to play with.”

From what you’ve seen, how did Brad handle the early challenges with his injuries and trying to hit the ground running when he’s been available?

Grayson Allen:

“I could sense his frustration with being out. You could tell he wanted to be out there. Even in his workouts and rehab, you could tell he was rehabbing to get back out there as soon as possible. Right off the bat, I could tell his wind was already good [when he returned] because he had been working out so hard to get back. Brad is another three-level scorer. He fits in perfectly with this drive-and-kick and movement offense that we’re trying to establish as our identity.”

How could you sense his frustration?

Grayson Allen:

“You could tell with his body language. With it being early in the season, a guy like that could just have this mindset and focus on the playoffs. You want to be at your healthiest at the end of the year. But he was trying to get back out there in December. He has that mindset that our group needs some cohesion and we need to play a lot of games together to reach our full potential. I could tell he wanted to be out there, so he felt a lot of responsibility to get out there.”

This is your first year here, but how have you seen Book handle having a bigger role with being more of a vocal leader and having more play-making responsibilities?

Grayson Allen:

“He’s been a great leader for us. With having a lot of point-guard duties, he has a lot on his plate, especially as a guy that is more of a scorer. Bringing up the ball can be a tough dynamic. It can wear you down when you have tough defenders picking you up at 94 [feet] the whole night. But he’s done great with it."

"From the outside, I didn’t realize how great of a playmaker and passer he was. But that’s where he has impressed me since playing with him this year. As a playmaker and a passer, he is a guy that does not get bored with making the right play. As soon as the defense stops overhelping, that’s when he goes into kill mode and gets his buckets. He’s a lot of fun to play with. A lot of people worry about him playing point guard, but he can do it.”

What’s it like being KD’s teammate and seeing him be an efficient scorer after having to face that as an opponent?

Grayson Allen:

(laughs). “It’s a lot more fun being his teammate. He’s a guy that does a little bit of everything out there. It’s really cool playing with a guy like that who is one of the greatest scorers of all time and is a Hall-of-Famer. You can see his focus out there with making little plays. In the first week of the season, we had a film session about being active and in our gaps defensively. Then in the next game, KD was the one that was the most active and in our gaps defensively. That’s a small example of his leadership. He’s not the biggest talker, but he wants to win. He’s willing to do those things and set the right example for the team. It’s his game reps. As soon as he gets to the gym, he’s getting shots up in his socks. It’s cool to see his work ethic up close each day.”

Giannis is a different player than KD. But what window did you see Giannis handle the kind of things you’ve seen from KD?

Grayson Allen:

“Giannis is the same with his work. He gets game-speed reps in on his off days. He’s having a coach or video guy guard him and dunk on him. He’s the same with the mindset that he approaches with his work ethic. Those guys get in game-speed reps every day. They’re in their mode in practice. They go at game speed.”

How do you think your own transition has gone so far in Phoenix?

Grayson Allen:

“It’s been great being a late move here and going right before training camp. I feel like a lot of the adjustments and getting used to who I’m playing with and figuring out my role and spots out here came on the fly in games. But I feel like it’s been a great fit for me. I feel like it’s a fun team to play for, especially with the talent that we have.”

What were the on-the-fly experiences like?

Grayson Allen:

“Coming from playing in Milwaukee for two years, Giannis is such a unique guy to play with that it’s a little bit different to play with Dev, Kevin and Brad early on. With those three guys, it’s just been an adjustment playing off of guys that are more guards than bigs. Our guards are drawing our gravity and extra defenders instead of it being a huge rim protector and getting a wall every time down the court.”

How do you adjust to that?

Grayson Allen:

“It’s been great. It’s been a great fit. With our offense, we’re moving the ball around and getting into drive-and-kick. I feel like that’s my strength – playing off of drive-and-kicks and playing off of closeouts. I’m being a shooter and a driver.”

What do you attribute your efficient outside numbers to so far?

Grayson Allen:

“A lot of it is the rhythm that I’m getting into with the game. Playing with these guys, I’m involved in a lot of actions even when I’m not scoring the ball. Sometimes I’m bringing the ball up. And if you ask any shooter if they have gotten to touch the ball for two or three plays, the next time they get it, it feels a lot better going up. I feel like it’s the rhythm. A lot of it has also been my improvement in the last three years with hitting my stride and getting to a place out there where I’m comfortable I can help.”

I read that one of your goals is not only to be efficient with your own shot, but help everyone else be efficient with your own presence and floor spacing. What’s the key to hit that goal?

Grayson Allen:

“It’s realizing game-to-game that the games that I get to shoot 10-plus 3s are a lot of fun, but there are also going to be games where I’m providing space for Kev, Book or Brad. I may not get as many shot attempts. But because I ran the corner, was holding space or I was in the right spots and my guy didn’t want to leave and had to guard me, it allowed those guys to operate in more space, get to their moves, get to their spots and be the most efficient version of themselves, too. That’s realizing the flow of games, and how some nights it’s that and some nights it’s the other.”

Do you shoot it any differently when you’re starting to have a high volume-shooting night compared to only having a few shots that night?

Grayson Allen:

“No, it’s exactly the same. There are some teams going into the game that have a certain style defensively where they like to pack it in and they like to force those wing 3s. So you kind of know ahead of time, and you’re looking out for it. But most of the time, it’s on the fly.”

What’s your comfort level with all the early ups and downs of the season?

Grayson Allen:

“I feel really comfortable. It’s going to be more and more and better and better the more that we play together. I do believe and feel really optimistic that the group that we have fits really well together. We just need four, five or six more games to get it going and get it perfect for 48 minutes each night. I feel very comfortable with these guys out here, and I’m looking forward toward continuing that and getting better.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.