One of the best shooters that ever lived and played in the NBA officially retires. Ray Allen, the all-time leader of three-pointers in the NBA retired this Tuesday after 18 seasons in four different teams with two championship rings.
Allen wrote an open letter to his younger self as a 41-year old man walking away from the game via Players' Tribune. The letter is for a 13-year old Ray Allen from a 41-year old Ray Allen who is completely at peace with himself. Since he has not played a game last 2014, Allen is eligible to be inducted into NBA Hall of Fame in 2019 according to NBA.com.
Allen's agent was reported to have contacted the reigning NBA champs, Cleveland Cavaliers for a possible return last July but a deal did not work out, in a report by Cleveland.com. The future Hall of Famer last played in 2013-2014 NBA season for the Miami Heat.
While other contender teams were still interested in his services, Ray Allen declined the offers after the 2013 season and stated that he wanted to give himself a chance to re-evaluate his career after the 2013-14 season.
Allen was a member of the solid 1996 NBA draft class which included the names of Kevin Garnett, Stephon Marbury and Laker Legend, Kobe Bryant. He was also known as Jesus Shuttlesworth because of the character he portrayed in the movie "He Got Game" in 1998.
He was very professional and gained a lot of respect from the fans and fellow players around the league. There were times when players even asked for the sneakers he literally wore in the game. Allen felt honored because players looked at him with high regard same as he looked at Michael Jordan who was the greatest player who ever played the game, per Bleacher Report.
Ray Allen was a 10-time All-Star, won an Olympic gold medal with team USA last 2000, two All-NBA team selections. He has a career average of 18.9 points per game and career shooting percentage of 40% from three point range. Allen finished 22nd in the list of the league's all-time scoring leaders with 24,505 points. And lastly, He is the record holder of 3 pointers made in the NBA with a career 2,973 3-pointers.
The last 3-pointer he made was the most memorable one. He drilled the corner 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left on the clock to send game 6 of the 2013 NBA finals in overtime which his team, the Miami Heat won against the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat eventually won the championship and it was Ray Allen's last and second NBA ring.
