# Ray Allen
**Ray Allen** (Walter Ray Allen III; born 1975 in [Merced, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/merced-california)) is an American former professional basketball player who spent 18 seasons in the NBA as a shooting guard, won championships with the [Boston Celtics](https://www.edgepedia.org/boston-celtics) in 2008 and the [Miami Heat](https://www.edgepedia.org/miami-heat) in 2013, and retired as the league's all-time leader in three-point field goals made with 2,973.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) • [2](https://uconnhuskies.com/news/2018/3/31/Ray_Allen_Elected_To_Naismith_Basketball_Hall_Of_Fame_) • [3](https://magazine.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/UConnMagazine_Spring2017_web.pdf) He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018 and named to the NBA's 75th Anniversary Team.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) • [4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975, Merced, California[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) |
| NBA career | 18 seasons: Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics, Miami Heat[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) |
| Championships | 2008 with Boston, 2013 with Miami[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) |
| Three-point record | 2,973 career makes, the NBA record until Stephen Curry broke it in December 2021[3](https://magazine.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/UConnMagazine_Spring2017_web.pdf) • [4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa) |
| Honors | 10-time All-Star, All-NBA Third Team (2001), 2000 Olympic gold medal, 75th Anniversary Team, Hall of Fame 2018[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) • [5](https://sports.yahoo.com/whose-nba-career-is-better-ray-allen-vs-reggie-miller-183701673.html) |
| Career scoring | 24,505 points, an 18.9 points-per-game average[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa) |
| Signature shot | Game-tying three with 5.2 seconds left in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa) |
## College career at Connecticut
Allen played college basketball at the [University of Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-connecticut) under coach [Jim Calhoun](https://www.edgepedia.org/jim-calhoun), where high-volume scoring made him a consensus First Team All-America and Big East Player of the Year.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) He chose the Huskies in part because Calhoun's staff committed to developing him as a college player rather than promising NBA stardom, and Allen later said he wanted to be one of the best players the university had ever seen.[6](https://www.theuconnblog.com/2018/9/11/17829860/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball-built-the-foundation-for-ray-allen-hall-of-fame-career-jim-calhoun)
## Milwaukee and Seattle
In seven seasons with the [Milwaukee Bucks](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee-bucks), Allen established himself as a three-point marksman and earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in 2001, playing in three All-Star Games with the club.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) He was also the 2001 Three-Point Shootout champion and won a gold medal with the United States at the 2000 Olympics.[5](https://sports.yahoo.com/whose-nba-career-is-better-ray-allen-vs-reggie-miller-183701673.html) • [1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen)
Traded to the [Seattle SuperSonics](https://www.edgepedia.org/seattle-supersonics) in 2003, he set career highs in scoring, rebounding, and assists, earning four more All-Star appearances in Seattle.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) His Seattle years included a regular-season career high of 26.5 points per game, a 54-point game, and the NBA record for three-point field goals made in a season.[7](https://www.uconnhooplegends.com/menslegends/AllenRay.html) That single-season mark of 269 makes, set in 2005-06, came on 653 attempts, both career highs.[8](https://sportsh2h.com/h2h-7-ray-allen-vs-reggie-miller/)
## Boston and the 2008 championship
Alongside [Kevin Garnett](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-garnett) and [Paul Pierce](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-pierce), Allen won his first NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) In Boston he shifted his game: as he described it, he was no longer a pick-and-roll or post-up player but strictly a spacer who shot threes, because the team had so many other great players.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa) Five years after setting the single-season mark, he passed [Reggie Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/reggie-miller)'s NBA career regular-season record by hitting his 2,561st three-pointer.[9](https://www.nba.com/news/unmatched-work-ethic-sends-ray-allen-springfield) His relationship with the core of the 2008 team later fractured, a rift he discussed publicly in a 2021 interview.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa)
## Miami and the 2013 Finals shot
Allen joined the Heat before the 2012-13 season and came off the bench in Miami, averaging nine points a game in the 2013-14 season.[10](https://time.com/2826570/miami-heat-nba-finals-lebron-championship/) In Game 6 of the 2013 [NBA Finals](https://www.edgepedia.org/nba-finals), with the Heat down three and on the verge of elimination, [Chris Bosh](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-bosh) rebounded a missed [LeBron James](https://www.edgepedia.org/lebron-james) three and flicked a pass to Allen, who swished a corner three with 5.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the game.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa) The shot allowed Miami to overcome a five-point deficit in the final 20.2 seconds and force overtime; the Heat won in overtime, then took Game 7, with James scoring 37 points, to claim their second straight championship.[11](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612748/2023/11/2023-24-Miami-Heat-Media-Guide_39884007.pdf) • [12](https://www.nba.com/news/history-top-moments-ray-allen-3-pointer-2013-finals) The victory made Allen the first University of Connecticut basketball alumnus to own multiple NBA championships.[13](https://uconnhuskies.com/news/2013/6/21/Another_NBA_Ring_For_Ray_Allen)
## Shooting record and playing style
Allen retired as the NBA's all-time leader in three-point field goals with 2,973, ahead of Reggie Miller's 2,560 and [Jason Terry](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-terry)'s 2,169.[3](https://magazine.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/UConnMagazine_Spring2017_web.pdf) • [14](https://as.com/us/us/2016/11/01/masdeporte/1478014894_012445.html) [Stephen Curry](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-curry) broke the record in December 2021, and Allen held it until then.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa) His career shooting percentages, 45.2 percent from the field, 40.0 percent on threes, and 89.4 percent on free throws, closely mirror Miller's.[15](https://sportsbyfry.com/2017/02/11/compare-the-pair-ray-allen-vs-reggie-miller/)
The record rested on routine as much as talent. Allen was known for a dedicated daily shooting practice and strict attention to detail, a work ethic that earned him the nickname "Every Day Ray"; he later explained that he had made the corner three from Game 6 hundreds of thousands of times in practice.[1](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen) • [10](https://time.com/2826570/miami-heat-nba-finals-lebron-championship/) He also scored in other ways, saying that being a three-point shooter was never his focus and that he could get to the rim, dunk, work the mid-range, and finish with his left hand.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa)
## Off the court
Allen played the young phenom Jesus Shuttlesworth in the 1998 Spike Lee film *He Got Game*.[10](https://time.com/2826570/miami-heat-nba-finals-lebron-championship/) Upon retiring after 18 years, he wrote a widely read letter to his 13-year-old self in *The Players' Tribune*.[3](https://magazine.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/UConnMagazine_Spring2017_web.pdf) He remained in Miami, where he and his wife own and operate Grown, a restaurant with a menu geared toward healthy eating, and he coaches at Gulliver Prep, where his four sons attend school.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa) He is also an avid golfer with a single-digit handicap and has played regularly with former President Barack Obama.[4](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa)
## References
1. [Ray Allen, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame](https://www.hoophall.com/hall-of-famers/ray-allen)
2. [Ray Allen Elected To Naismith Basketball Hall Of Fame, UConn Athletics](https://uconnhuskies.com/news/2018/3/31/Ray_Allen_Elected_To_Naismith_Basketball_Hall_Of_Fame_)
3. [UConn Nation Alumni, UConn Magazine Spring 2017](https://magazine.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/UConnMagazine_Spring2017_web.pdf)
4. [Q&A: Ray Allen talks iconic Game 6 shot, Celtics teammates and golfing with Barack Obama, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-ray-allen-qa)
5. [Better NBA career: Ray Allen or Reggie Miller?, Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/whose-nba-career-is-better-ray-allen-vs-reggie-miller-183701673.html)
6. [Ray Allen Built the Foundation of His Hall of Fame Career at UConn, The UConn Blog](https://www.theuconnblog.com/2018/9/11/17829860/uconn-huskies-mens-basketball-built-the-foundation-for-ray-allen-hall-of-fame-career-jim-calhoun)
7. [UCONN Hoop Legends: Ray Allen](https://www.uconnhooplegends.com/menslegends/AllenRay.html)
8. [H2H 7: Ray Allen vs. Reggie Miller, Sports H2H](https://sportsh2h.com/h2h-7-ray-allen-vs-reggie-miller/)
9. [Consistency, durability guide marksman Ray Allen into Hall of Fame, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/unmatched-work-ethic-sends-ray-allen-springfield)
10. [The Miami Heat Will Win It All, TIME](https://time.com/2826570/miami-heat-nba-finals-lebron-championship/)
11. [2023-24 Miami Heat Media Guide](https://cdn.nba.com/teams/uploads/sites/1610612748/2023/11/2023-24-Miami-Heat-Media-Guide_39884007.pdf)
12. [Top Moments: Ray Allen's clutch 3 in Game 6 of NBA Finals, NBA.com](https://www.nba.com/news/history-top-moments-ray-allen-3-pointer-2013-finals)
13. [Another NBA Ring For Ray Allen, UConn Athletics](https://uconnhuskies.com/news/2013/6/21/Another_NBA_Ring_For_Ray_Allen)
14. [Una leyenda se retira: Ray Allen, AS](https://as.com/us/us/2016/11/01/masdeporte/1478014894_012445.html)
15. [Compare the Pair – Ray Allen vs. Reggie Miller, SportsbyFry](https://sportsbyfry.com/2017/02/11/compare-the-pair-ray-allen-vs-reggie-miller/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › Basketball players and coaches (biographies) › NBA players, 1996–2010 › NBA guards, 1996–2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license