Ray Allen


Walter Ray Allen Jr. is an American former professional basketball player. Allen played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2018. He is widely considered one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time. Allen was a ten-time NBA All-Star, and won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the 2000 United States men's basketball team. At the time of his retirement, he was the leading three-point scorer in NBA history until he was surpassed by Stephen Curry in 2021. As of 2025, he ranks third on the NBA's all-time three-pointers list. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Allen played college basketball for the Connecticut Huskies for three seasons, before he was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and developed into a prolific scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks, featuring alongside Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell as the team achieved playoff success. In 2003, he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics, where he solidified his reputation as a scorer, breaking several league records for three-point and free throw shooting. Allen was later traded to the Boston Celtics, where he formed a "Big Three" with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce; the team won an NBA championship in 2008. After five seasons with the Celtics, he played with the Miami Heat for two seasons, reaching the NBA Finals both times and winning the title in 2013; his clutch three-pointer to force overtime in game 6 of the 2013 Finals is regarded as one of the most iconic and memorable plays in NBA history. Allen retired on November 1, 2016, after playing for four different teams.
During his NBA career, Allen acted in some films, such as his role as basketball prodigy Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's basketball drama He Got Game. Allen's performance as Shuttlesworth was praised by critics, and the name was borrowed as Allen's basketball nickname.

Early life

The third of five children, Allen was born at Castle Air Force Base near Merced, California, the son of Walter Sr. and Flora Allen. A military child, he spent time growing up in Saxmundham, Suffolk, England, in Altus, Oklahoma, at Edwards Air Force Base in California, and in Germany. After years of traveling and frequent moves, his family settled in Dalzell, South Carolina, for four years, where he would attend high school. When he first arrived, the young Allen was often the odd-man-out, picked on by other kids for the accent acquired during his formative years in Britain. Allen's athletic gifts and work ethic allowed him to excel in sports. When a growth spurt left him with a natural advantage in basketball, he decided to dedicate his free time to becoming the best basketball player he possibly could.
Fueled by his desire to become the top player on his military base, Allen practiced at length daily, so long as it did not interfere with his studies. By the age of fifteen, he was playing for Hillcrest High School's varsity team, and would eventually lead them to their first state championship. Allen scored 25 points and notched 12 rebounds in a blowout victory for Hillcrest Wildcats. At Hillcrest, he was teammates with future Major League Baseball player Terrell Wade. He drew much attention from college recruiters, especially from the University of Kentucky, but ultimately accepted an offer from the University of Connecticut.

College career

Allen attended the University of Connecticut from 1993 to 1996.
As a freshman with the Huskies in 1993–94, Allen came off the bench in 34 games he played, averaging 12.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals in 21.6 minutes per game. He was subsequently named to the Big East All-Freshman Team.
As a sophomore in 1994–95, Allen played 32 games with 31 starts, averaging 21.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals in 32.8 minutes per game. He was named first-team All-Big East.
As a junior in 1995–96, Allen started all 35 games and averaged 23.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.7 minutes per game. He was named the Big East Player of the Year and earned first-team All-Big East. The Huskies won their third consecutive Big East Conference regular season title and played in their third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Allen declared for the 1996 NBA draft. As of 2018, his 1,922 point total ranked fifth all-time, his 19.0 career average was fourth, his 44.8 three-point field goal percentage was first, and the 818 points he scored as a junior was the third-highest season total in UConn history.
In January 2001, Allen was named honorary captain of the 25-member UConn All-Century Basketball Team. In February 2007, he was an inaugural inductee in the UConn men's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program. In March 2019, his number 34 jersey was retired by UConn.
In May 2023, Allen graduated from UConn with a Bachelor's Degree in General Studies.

NBA career

Milwaukee Bucks (1996–2003)

1996–1999: early years in Milwaukee

Allen was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1996 NBA draft. Immediately after his selection, Allen and Andrew Lang were traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for the rights to fourth pick Stephon Marbury. On July 24, 1996, Allen signed a 3-year, $6.2 million contract with the Bucks. Allen made his NBA debut on November 1, 1996, where he started and played 28 minutes and scored 13 points in a win against fellow rookie Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. On January 12, 1997, Allen put in one of his strongest efforts of the season in a win against the Golden State Warriors, contributing 22 points, 6 assists, 3 steals and a new career high of 9 rebounds. In February 1997, Allen competed in the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend, where he finished fourth. Continuing his strong rookie season, on March 25, 1997, Allen scored a new career high of 32 points in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. Allen was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
In the 1997–98 season, Allen played and started all 82 games for the Bucks. In the season opener, he put up 29 points, including 6 three-pointers in a win against the 76ers. On December 20, 1997, Allen set a new career high of 35 points against the New York Knicks. On the brink of missing the playoffs for the second straight year, on April 18, 1998, the last game of the regular season, Allen tallied a 40-point double-double with 10 rebounds.

1999–2003: building his legacy

On February 10, 1999, following the 1998–99 NBA lockout, Allen signed a six-year, $70.9 million extension with the Bucks, making him the highest paid player in franchise history at that point. The 1998–99 season saw Allen make his first playoff appearance, with the Bucks earning the seventh seed. There they were swept by the Indiana Pacers in the first round despite Allen averaging 22.3 points per game. The following season, on January 20, 2000, Allen recorded a career-high 13 assists in a loss to the Seattle SuperSonics. On February 3, 2000, Allen scored 36 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in a 102–99 win against the Utah Jazz. A month later, Allen played in his first All-Star Game, where he had 14 points in 17 minutes. During the 1999–2000 season, Allen led the Bucks in scoring during the regular and post-season.
On February 7, 2001, Allen recorded his first career triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against the Boston Celtics. A few days later, he participated and won his first 3-point shootout during All-Star Weekend. Allen, alongside Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson, helped lead the Bucks to the Eastern Conference finals. Allen recorded a new playoff career high with 41 points in a Game 6 victory over the 76ers, but the Bucks ultimately lost in seven games. Allen earned All-NBA Third Team honors in 2001.

Seattle SuperSonics (2003–2007)

Allen remained with the Bucks midway through the 2002–03 season, when he was dealt to the Seattle SuperSonics, along with Ronald Murray, former UConn teammate Kevin Ollie, and a conditional first round draft pick, in exchange for Gary Payton and Desmond Mason. It was speculated that Allen's contentious relationship with coach George Karl played a role in the Bucks' willingness to part with Allen.
After an injury-riddled 2003–04 season, Allen was named to the All-NBA Second Team in the 2004–05 season and, alongside teammate Rashard Lewis, led the Sonics to the 2005 Conference semifinals.
In July 2005, Allen signed a five-year, $85 million contract with the SuperSonics.
On March 12, 2006, Allen became the 97th player in NBA history to score 15,000 points. On April 7, 2006, Allen moved into second place on the NBA's list of all-time 3-point field goals made, trailing only Reggie Miller. On April 19, 2006, Allen broke Dennis Scott's ten-year-old NBA record for 3-point field goals made in a season in a game against the Denver Nuggets. The record was broken by Stephen Curry.
In the 2006–07 regular season, Allen averaged a career-high 26.4 points per game while adding 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. On January 12, 2007, he scored a career-high 54 points against the Utah Jazz in a 122–114 overtime win, the second most in Sonics history. Shortly after, he had ankle surgery on both ankles and missed the remainder of the 2006–07 season.

Boston Celtics (2007–2012)

2007–2009: first championship

On June 28, 2007, the Sonics traded Allen and Glen Davis, the 35th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, to the Celtics in exchange for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the fifth overall pick, Jeff Green. Shortly after acquiring Allen, the Celtics acquired Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett to play alongside Allen and Paul Pierce. Upon joining the Celtics, Allen changed his jersey to number 20 because Paul Pierce already had number 34 in Boston.
On November 4, 2007, Allen passed 17,000 points for his career with his first of two 3-pointers in overtime in a 98–95 victory against the Toronto Raptors, in which he sank the game winning 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in overtime.
On February 13, 2008, Allen was named as the replacement for injured East All-Star Caron Butler of the Washington Wizards, who was out with a left hip flexor strain, for the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. While LeBron James was given the All-Star MVP Award, many analysts, including the TNT commentators of the game, felt it should have gone to Allen, who scored 14 points in a stretch of 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the East team.
On March 28, 2008, Allen was honored as the 3rd best of the 20 greatest players in franchise history during Milwaukee's 40th Anniversary Team Celebration, but could not attend the festivities because of the Celtics' game against the New Orleans Hornets. The Boston Celtics finished 66–16, and were the #1 seed in the 2008 NBA Playoffs. The Celtics struggled in the first two rounds of the playoffs, losing every single away game, but maintaining an undefeated playoff record at home. The Celtics had defeated the #8 seeded Atlanta Hawks 4–3 and then defeated the #4 seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 4–3 as well. They advanced to the 2008 NBA Finals after a 4–2 Conference finals series win over the Detroit Pistons.
On June 12, 2008, Allen would play all 48 minutes and contribute greatly with 19 points and 9 rebounds in what would become the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, with the Celtics coming back from a 24-point deficit at one point in the second quarter and a deficit as large as 20 in the third. In that game, Allen would make the game clinching layup with 16.4 seconds remaining to give the Celtics a 5-point lead and put the game away.
On June 17, 2008, in the series-ending Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Allen tied an NBA Finals record with seven three-pointers in the Celtics' 131–92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. With the victory, Allen secured his first NBA championship.
On February 5, 2009, Allen was named as the All-Star replacement for Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson. This marked Allen's ninth time on the All-Star team and the second straight year he had made it alongside teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
On February 22, 2009, with his streak ending at 72, Allen broke the Celtics franchise record in consecutive free throws made previously set by Larry Bird.
In the first round of the 2009 playoffs against the Chicago Bulls, game one proved to be tough for Allen. He ended up shooting 1–11 from the field, and the Celtics lost by two. In game 2 however, Allen nailed the game winning three-pointer at the end of regulation with two seconds left to cap off an impressive 30 point night. In Game 6, despite a Boston loss, Allen managed to score 51 points. Boston ended up winning the series in 7 Games. He reunited with former teammate and co-captain of the Seattle SuperSonics, Rashard Lewis in the conference semifinals, that time as opponents, however. After 4 games and a 2–2 series tie, his highest scoring game was a 22-point performance in a Game 2 victory. The Celtics went on to lose in seven games as they failed to defend their title.