Ray Allen retires & writes a letter to younger self. "I write this to you today as a 41-year-old man who is retiring from the game....
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| Ray Allen retires & writes a letter to younger self. |
"I write this to you today as a 41-year-old man who is retiring from the game. I write to you as a man who is completely at peace with himself."
Ray Allen formally retired from the NBA in a post on The Players Tribune website.Allen last played in Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, shooting 1 of 8 in the 104-87 loss that ended Miami Heat's Big Three Run with LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.
But the shooter will ultimately be remembered for his game tying 3-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals with 5.2 seconds left. The Heat would go on to win Game 6 in overtime and the championship in Game 7, Ray Allen's second championship.
Erik Spoelstra on Ray Allen and the 3-pt shot
"The first time I saw him do a shooting workout in our gym, he was practicing offensive rebounds, 3-point shooting. He would lay on the floor, pop up, backpedal, have the presence of mind to have his feet set and not out of bounds and have a coach throw him the ball. It was the first time I had ever seen that drill.I asked him afterwards, I said, 'That seemed like a crazy drill. Why would you do something like that and lay down in the middle of the floor?'
And he said, 'Well, it's extreme, but I want to prepare myself for when I'm in the lane and I hit the floor or I'm on the ground for an offensive rebound, that I have the fundamentals to be able to backpedal, and stay in bounds and be able to knock down shots.'
"It was that shot. And it was a backpedal where he didn't step out of bounds and he was behind the 3-point line. It was an incredible thing to see. But that's how detailed Ray was his workouts, and that was on all levels: his conditioning, his shooting, tying it all together with his footwork, really maniacal about the details."
Ray Allen's Clutch Three from All Angles!
Allen spent 18 seasons in the league with Milwaukee, Seattle, the Celtics and the Heat, averaging 18.9 points in 1,300 career regular-season games and appearing in 10 All-Star Games. With 2,973 3-point field goals made in his career and 7,429 3-point field goal attempts, Ray Allen retires as the NBA alltime three-point shooter of alltime.
Don't forget. Ray Allen had BOUNCE!! #ThankYouRay pic.twitter.com/iavT3fXBSG
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 1, 2016
Congratulations to Ray Allen on a championship career #Banner17 pic.twitter.com/YvlWwBi344— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 1, 2016
Ray Allen's legacy:— ESPN (@espn) November 1, 2016
2,973 3-pointers.
Four teams.
Two championships.
One legendary jumper. pic.twitter.com/qh1W4GuMy4
Big congrats to @greenRAYn20, the greatest shooter to play the game, on an impressive career! #shuttlesworth pic.twitter.com/Oa89HSAPcP
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) November 1, 2016
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