Contemporary Authors

• From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love Dey St. (New York, NY), 2018

1. From the outside : my journey through life and the game I love LCCN 2017278398 Type of material Book Personal name Allen, Ray, 1975- author. Main title From the outside : my journey through life and the game I love / Ray Allen with Michael Arkush ; foreword by Spike Lee. Edition First edition. Published/Produced New York, NY : Dey St., an imprint of William Morrow, [2018] ©2018 Description x, 274 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm ISBN 9780062675477 (hardcover) 0062675478 (hardcover) CALL NUMBER Not available Request in Jefferson or Adams Building Reading Rooms

• Ray Allen Home Page - http://www.ray34.com/about-ray/athlete/

  The Athlete
  From his (not so) humble beginnings on the UConn Huskies Ray has been one of the hardest working, highest achieving players on the court. Browse through some of the highlights of Ray’s illustrious career.
  » University of Connecticut (1993-1996)

  » Milwaukee Bucks (1996-2003)

  » Seattle Supersonics (2003-2007)

  » USA Olympic Team

  » Boston Celtics (2007-2012)

  » Miami Heat (2012-2014)

  » NBA All-Star

  University of Connecticut (1993-1996)
  ’93-’94 Big East All-Rookie Team
  ‘94-95 NCAA AP 3rd Team All-American
  ’95-’96 USA Men’s Basketball Male Athlete of the Year
  ‘95-’96 NCAA AP 1st Team All-American
  ’95-’96 Big East Player of the Year
  ’95-’96 Set Huskies single season record with 115, 3 pointers
  ’95-’96 Finished 3rd on Huskies career scoring list with 1,922 points
  Milwaukee Bucks (1996-2003)
  ’96-’97 Drafted 5th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, immediately traded to the Milwaukee Bucks
  ’96-’97 Participated in the All-Star Rookie game and served as the National Spokesperson for the game
  ’96-’97 Became 1st Buck to participate in the Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk contest since Paul Pressey in 1986.
  ’96-’97 NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team
  2000 Olympic Gold Medalist as a member of the USA Men’s National Team in Sydney Australia
  ’00-‘01 NBA All-Star Weekend 3pt Shootout champion
  ’00-’01 All-NBA 3rd Team
  ’01-’02 Name team Co-Captain
  3 Time NBA All-Star as a Buck (2000, 2001, 2002)
  The Sporting News ‘Good Guy” Award (‘99-’00, ’00-’01)
  Led the league in 3pt field goals made (2001-2002, 2002-2003)
  Holds Milwaukee Bucks franchise records for most consecutive games played (400), most career three-point field goals made (1,051), and most career three-point field goals attempted (2,587)
  Seattle Supersonics (2003-2007)
  ’02-’03 Joe Dumars NBA Sportsmanship Award
  ’04-’05 2nd Team All-NBA
  ’04-’05 The Sporting News “Good Guy” Award
  ’05-’06 Passed 15,000 points for his NBA Career
  ’05-’06 Became 2nd on NBA all time 3pt field goal made list
  ’05-’06 Broke 10 year NBA record for 3pt field goals made in a season (269)
  ’06-’07 Scored career high 54 points vs Utah Jazz
  Led NBA in 3pt Field Goals Made (’02-’03, ’05-’06)
  4 Time NBA All Star as a Sonic (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
  Boston Celtics (2007-2012)
  November 4, 2007, Allen passed 17,000 points for his NBA career
  March 28, 2008, Allen was honored as the 3rd best of the 20 greatest players in Milwaukee Bucks franchise history during Milwaukee‘s 40th Anniversary Team Celebration
  June 12, 2008, Allen contributed 19 points and 9 rebounds in 48 minutes in the largest comeback in NBA Finals history. The Celtics would overcome 24 point and 20 points deficits in the 2nd and 3rd quarters respectively to clinch the game with a layup from Allen with 16.4 seconds remaining
  June 17, 2008, Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Allen tied the NBA Finals record with Seven 3 pointers made in the Celtics series ending victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Allen also broke the record for 3 pointers made in a NBA Finals series with 22, surpassing the previous record of 17 held by Dan Majerle and Derek Harper
  June 17, 2008, Allen won his first NBA Championship
  February 22, 2009, Allen ended his streak of consecutive free throws made at 72, thus breaking the Celtics franchise record previously held by Larry Bird with 71
  December 10, 2009, Allen reached the 20,000 points for his NBA career
  On June 6, 2010, Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals vs the Los Angeles Lakers, Allen set the record for most three-pointers made in an NBA Finals game, half and quarter. Allen made 8 three-pointers in the game, 7 three-pointers in the first half, and 5 three-pointers in the second quarter. With this game he broke Michael Jordan’s record of 6 three-pointers in one half and tied Scottie Pippen and Kenny Smith’s record for most three-pointers in a NBA Finals game by half time.
  2 Time NBA All-Star as a Celtic (2008, 2009)
  Miami Heat (2012-2014)
  July 11, 2012, signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat.
  April 25, 2013, Ray makes his 322nd career three-pointer in the playoffs, which broke Reggie Miller’s record for most three-pointers made in NBA playoff history.
  June 18, 2013, Ray makes game tying 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in the 4th quarter in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. Miami Heat wins the game in overtime 103-100 to force a Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs.
  June 20, 2013, Miami Heat wins Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals. Ray wins his second NBA Championship.
  June 29, 2013, Ray picks up his player option to stay with the Heat for the 2013-2014 Season.
  June 5, 2014, Ray makes it to his 4th NBA Finals, second consecutive.
  USA Olympic Team
  2000 Olympic Gold Medalist as a member of the USA Men’s National Team in Sydney Australia
  Scored 21 points vs China in the USA’s first game
  Averaged 9.8 ppg
  NBA All-Star
  10x NBA All Star (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011)
  ’96-’97 NBA All-Star Rookie Game participant
  ’96-’97 Nestle Crunch Slam Dunk contest participant
  4 time NBA All-Star 3pt Shootout participant (’99-’00, ’00-’01,’01-’02,’04-’05)
  ’00-’01 NBA All-Star 3pt Shootout Champion
  In the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, Allen scored 14 points in a stretch of 2 minutes and 30 seconds in the fourth quarter to seal the win for the East team.
  Holds the NBA All-Star record for:
  Three-point field goals made, All-Star Career (20)
  Three-point field goal attempts, All-Star career (64)
  Three-point field goal attempts, All-Star game (11)
  Three-point field goal attempts, half (7)

• Ray Allen Home Page - http://www.ray34.com/about-ray/actor/

  The Actor
  When he’s not on the court, you can find him on the screen (Film & television). These are some of his credits, and you can find more on Ray’s page on IMDB.com
  In Film

  Commercial Appearances

  Film
  1998 Allen co-starred alongside Denzel Washington in the Spike Lee film He Got Game as high school basketball phenomenon Jesus Shuttlesworth
  1999 MTV Award nominee for Best Breakthrough Male Performance in He Got Game
  2001 appeared as Marcus Blake in the film Harvard Man
  Ray has appeared in commercials for:
  Jordan Brand
  Webster Bank
  Dunkin Donuts
  Direct TV
  NBA
  Sony

• Ray Allen Home Page - http://www.ray34.com/about-ray/activist/

  The Activist
  The Ray of Hope Foundation
  Rayofhope_REV05

  DONATE

  Established by NBA All-Star Ray Allen in 1997, The Ray of Hope Foundation assists with sports-related and community-based programs and provides avenues of opportunity through which our youth can “hope” to realize their full potential. The Ray of Hope Foundation is committed to improving the lives of children. To instilling in them, knowledge of world culture, a feeling of self-worth and the belief that hard work + talent = success. We seek to foster a mix of scholarship, culture and imagination that can change the world. That can inspire children to be world thinkers and world doers. In this new era of one world, the Ray of Hope Foundation seeks to create renaissance children. We invite you to join us in our efforts.

  In 2011, the Ray of Hope Foundation embarked on an initiative to help reduce the technology divide within our communities. The Ray of Hope Foundation Computer Lab Initiative builds and refurbishes computer labs in public elementary and middle schools. To date, the foundation has completed 11 computer labs: Tobin School, Sarah Greenwood School, Timilty Middle School in Boston, Massachusetts; John C. Clark Elementary & Middle School, McDonough Expeditionary Learning School, Fred D. Wish Museum School, S.A.N.D School & Simpson-Waverly School in Hartford, Connecticut, Ponus Middle School in Norwalk, Connecticut, Horace Mann Middle School in El Portal, Florida and Homestead Middle School in Homestead, Florida.

  Along with expanding of our Computer Lab Initiative, the Ray of Hope Foundation envisions developing youth centers in underserved communities that provide afterschool programming designed to foster a mix of scholarship, culture, sports and imagination that can change the world. That can inspire children to be world thinkers and world doers. In this new era of one world, the Ray of Hope Foundation seeks to create renaissance children. We invite you to join us in our efforts.

  Since its inception, the Ray of Hope Foundation has raised over $750,000. The organizations that have received assistance from the foundation include…

  AAU Programs – Brookfield Warriors, New Mexico Wildcats, Charlotte Royals
  Alliance for Education
  B.E.L.L. (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
  Big Brothers Big Sisters
  Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation
  Boston Centers for Youth and Families
  Boys & Girls Club of Boston – No Books No Balls
  Boys & Girls Club of King County
  Chapman Partnership
  Charlotte Royals Youth Basketball
  City Ballet Theatre of Milwaukee
  Connecticut Childrens Medical Center Foundation
  Development through Athletics
  Fred D. Wish Museum School (Hartford)
  Innersole
  James P. Timilty Middle School Computer Lab Program (Boston)
  John C. Clark, Jr. Elementary & Middle School Computer Lab Program (Hartford)
  Joslin Diabetes Center
  Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF)
  Make-A-Wish Foundation
  McDonough Expeditionary Learning School Computer Lab Program (Hartford)
  Miami Rescue Mission
  Middletown High School
  Muhammads Islamic Academy
  Ponus Ridge Middle School (Norwalk)
  S.A.N.D. School (Hartford)
  Sarah Greenwood School Computer Lab Program (Boston)
  Simpson Waverly School (Hartford)
  Sumter Volleyball Club
  The First Tee Connecticut
  The Gifford School
  The Home for Little Wanderers
  The World Youth Peace Summit
  Thomas More High School
  Tobin School Computer Lab Program (Boston)
  UNICEF
  Walkers Point Youth & Family Center
  Washington Education Foundation
  Wisconsin Scholars, Inc.
  YMCA – No Books-No Balls Basketball Program
  YMCA Strong Kids Campaign
  BOARD OF DIRECTORS
  Ray Allen
  Chairman and President
  Ray of Hope Foundation

  Orin Mayers
  Business Manager
  Ray Allen Enterprises

  Ralph Giansanti
  Supervising Manager
  Infinex Financial

  Matt Meyersohn
  Managing Director, Sports Partnerships
  Unicef

  STAFF
  Tyrone Fleming
  Development Director

  Rob Morris
  Administrative Director

• Sports Illustrated - https://www.si.com/nba/2017/11/09/ray-allen-book-from-the-outside-celtics-heat-memories-game-6

  Ray Allen Q&A: New Book, Celtics Break-Up and Game 6 Memories
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  After one of the most storied careers in NBA history, Ray Allen is ready to tell all. The future Hall of Famer opens up about his new book, his Celtics departure and his legendary Game 6 shot.
  By ROHAN NADKARNI November 09, 2017
  Ray Allen is ready to tell all.

  The NBA’s all-time leader in three pointers and Hall-of-Fame lock has authored a book—with a foreword from Spike Lee!— detailing his life and career. From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love will dive deep into Allen’s transformation from a star at UConn to a lethal threat in the NBA, with much more in between. Oh, and expect some words on his departure from the Celtics, too.

  Allen last played in the NBA in 2014 with the Miami Heat, only officially announcing his retirement in November 2016 after flirting with championship contenders as a free agent. Since hanging up his shooting sleeve, Allen has kept busy traveling the world and the spending time with his children.

  “People always ask me if I’m going to get into coaching,” Allen told The Crossover. “I have four young boys. That’s my team right now. I have to make sure I have an impact on them.”

  In anticipation of his memoir, Allen caught up with us to discuss why he didn’t come back for one more season, his Game 6 shot against the Spurs, and more.

  COURTESY OF HARPERCOLLINS
  Rohan Nadkarni: The last time we saw you on the court was the 2014 NBA Finals, and I think we all expected you would come back. Was there one big reason why you decided to end your career at that point?

  Ray Allen: Well, I think as much as people still wanted me out on the floor, and I’ve always prided myself on the type of shape I was in, so I never looked at it as I was wearing down or getting tired. But I did play 18 years. And 18 years is a long time. I had to work twice as hard just to stay in front of everything, and the recovery gets tougher. And it was harder because as much as I was putting in, I wasn’t getting out of it. And I had to decide if I wanted to play again, I was living in Miami, and the team broke up. Miami became younger so that wasn’t an option, so if I played it was going to be for a team that had a chance to win. So that was going to require me to pick up and move. I wasn’t sure if I was willing to do that. I had already moved my kids. There wasn’t a situation where I could put myself in where I had the opportunity to win and I was going to be able to play. It was going to be a new city to move my family to, it was going to be an adjustment around me. I didn’t want to have to put them in that predicament. I sat back, waited and watched to see if anything made sense, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t worth it for me to move my kids again and then possibly be in a situation I wasn’t really happy with.

  RN: Dwyane Wade described the last year of the Big Three as a “bad marriage.” What was the vibe on that team? Was that year tougher than most on all the guys?

  RA: It certainly was tough on all of us as players. Organizationally, I don’t think they ever adjusted. Most of the guys, having gone to so many Finals, me being an older player, having played a lot of basketball the last five, six years, organizationally and coaching wise they didn’t adjust. We had the oldest team in the NBA, and on top of that, we had such a bad schedule. Every holiday we were away from home. Every situation we were in we were fighting to just stay above board, trying to figure out how to sleep or rest our bodies. We wore down, we were tired, and we were definitely tired at the end. We still were good, and we still made it to the Finals.

  RN: In what way do you mean the organization didn’t adjust?

  RA: With a team as old as we were, and with as much basketball as we’d played, we were still doing a million appearances, we still were having all the practices, and doing all the things that typically wear you down by the end of the year. Just being on your feet so much. The team didn’t learn how to manage our bodies better. When your players have played in June the last three or four years, by this time you have to figure out how get people off their feet. We don’t need to have a practice. We don’t need to have a shootaround. We just have to be mental. From those aspects, you wear yourself down long term.

  RN: NBA fans have discussed a lot over the years what happened to your Celtics teammates after you left Boston. You and Paul Pierce had a chance to hash things out this summer. How much of a relief was that for you to get the ball rolling with Paul?

  RA: It’s not something that I was worried about, let’s put it like that. I just set out to have a conversation with him. It was coincidental that we were there. I didn’t need to do interviews on TV or try to defend myself. I won a championship when I left, and that’s all of our objectives when we sign up to be a part of a sports team.

  RN: Was there anything that was said over the years that hurt you?

  RA: Well, we just finished writing the book and I will certainly talk about it. That’s something I’m going to talk about in-depth in my book.

  SACRAMENTO BEE/GETTY IMAGES
  RN: It was almost a novelty to shoot threes the way you did for parts of your career. Now you see some teams shooting almost 40 a night. Do you ever wish you could play in this era where you could shoot even more?

  RA: I started in an era when coaches pretty much hated the three and wanted you to do everything else. The game has certainly evolved. When we were young, we were excited that we were getting the salaries that we were getting and some of the older players would be in the league and say, “Wow, these guys are getting paid this much money!” But now that same thing is happening over again. It’s just the generation you’re in, you have to take care of it and grow it for the next generation. Hopefully you had an impact on the game while you played it. And in my era or while I played, it’s important to say that. Because regardless of what happens to any record I had, in my era, while I played I held a few NBA records.

  RN: You were always a legend for the work you put in before games. Where did your work ethic come from? What experiences helped build that mindset?

  RA: I learned from other people’s examples. I don’t know where I got it from, but I always learned to look around me and see things people did do and the things people didn’t do and allowed that to influence me as a player. I just knew that I was always afraid to fail. I was afraid of not being good. I always had this thought that tomorrow I wouldn’t make a shot. I wasn’t going to make another shot. Whether it was a free throw or three pointer. So the first thing in the morning I would wake up and go right to the gym. Because I felt like if I didn’t go do it I was going to suck the next night. There was this constant cloud over my head. I had to go the gym to make it work and make it happen.

  RN: You’ve been a little bit more outspoken politically since you retired. Obviously it’s a crazy time, and you see players and coaches in the NBA speaking constantly. What do you think of that mix of sports and politics? Are you more comfortable speaking out?

  RA: I feel extremely comfortable. People try censor me all the time on social media. “You need to stick to basketball!“ “I’m not following you anymore because you’re getting political.” And it amazes me that somebody would tell you to say only what they want to hear. The fact that I speak up against any politician or government official—it’s our duty as Americans to hold the people in office accountable. When I say something on social media, this is not for the Allen household. This is for the people of America. We all have to stand up. I don’t believe it’s getting political when you say something that’s for the greater good. You’re just being a concerned citizen. That’s what a democracy is all about. And for somebody to come on my wall, on any social media, and say “stick to basketball,” it’s an insult and I’m very offended. We as athletes, many of us have foundations, we have families, we are philanthropic in the communities that we live in. We have a stance, we have beliefs. We play basketball at a high level but it’s offensive if that’s all you think we care to talk about.

  NBA
  C.J. McCollum Q&A: The NBA's Most Media-Savvy Star
  RN: Some people hail the NBA as the most progressive sports league. Do you find that to be the case? Or do you hope to see even more coming from the NBA?

  RA: If you look around professional sports, you see athletes from lots of sports stepping up and speaking out. One thing about athletes in general is, no matter what’s happening in government, we are the voice of the people. Just like when you do media, you’re asking us questions because there are things fans want to know, they want answers. When we step up and speak out, we hold the mantle for a lot of people and how they feel. Because they may not have they voice or the podium to be able to speak out.

  When I speak out against something I don’t believe in, it’s not because I’m a millionaire or because I’m an NBA player. I’m not saying it because I’m comfortable. We speak out because, even with all the money we make, we all have poor family members. We all have cousins, aunts, uncles, who aren’t as well off. Yeah, we help out as much as we can, but you can’t help everybody out. We want to make sure the system works for them. We want to make sure that programs are in place to help those less fortunate. We see people in America who are struggling. It’s not that we want to give things away to them, and we want to be a kickstand for them. Some people just don’t have the opportunity that others have. Some people are born 50% through the race. Some people start in the negative. If it doesn’t get level, we at least want to give people a chance to at least get into the race.

  RN: What do people ask you about more, He Got Game or the Game 6 shot?

  RA: You know, that’s a good question. I would say, recently it’s more of the Game 6 shot. Interestingly enough, people always ask me if I remember it. I’m like, “Uh, which shot are you speaking of? I don’t know which one you’re talking about.” Do I remember it? Somebody did this huge picture and I have it on on the wall in my house. It’s boarded all over the wall. We actually forget that it’s there half the time. For me it’s not about the shot as much as the preparation. That lifelong preparation that went into me being in that situation. I think it’s the Game 6 shot more than anything that people ask me about. They always tell me where they were when it happened. It’s pretty interesting, as much as I hit the shot, it’s more about where people were and how it affected their life more than anything else.

  RN: What was going through your mind when you told security to get those ropes off the court?

  RA: It’s like one of those situations when you get sick, and you focus more. That’s kind of where our mindset was. We were in a really tough situation. Typically when you’re in a tough situation, things start to splinter. People start pointing fingers. People figure out ways to make things worse. In basketball, everybody wants to do it themselves. You want to take that shot to get the lead back. We circled the wagons and got more focused. It was anger, but it was a focused anger. Everybody knew what we had to do. And we couldn’t sit back and play the woe is me card.

• Business Insider - https://www.businessinsider.com/ray-allen-book-nba-career-super-teams-2018-4

  NBA legend Ray Allen discusses his new book, how the NBA has evolved, and why the concept of super-teams is overstated
  Scott Davis Apr. 7, 2018, 1:15 PM

  ray allen 2x1
  Lynne Sladky/AP; Business Insider
  NBA legend Ray Allen spoke to Business Insider to discuss his new book, which covers his journey through the NBA.
  Allen spoke about how the NBA evolved over his career and which teams were best at taking care of their players.
  Allen also discussed the concept of super-teams and what he would change about the NBA today.

  Four years after leaving the NBA, Ray Allen still remains a key figure in the league.

  Allen became one of the game's top scoring guards, helped weaponize the three-pointer, played with some of the NBA's most notable "Big Three" teams, owns perhaps the biggest three-pointer in NBA history, and is the all-time leader in made threes. Last Friday, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

  In March, Allen released a book, "From the Outside," documenting his rise in the NBA, his work ethic, and a lasting sense of insecurity, as he was traded from team to team or, in his mind, shorted in contract negotiations.

  Allen spoke to Business Insider about his new book, how the NBA changed over his career, and the concept of super-teams.

  This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

  Scott Davis: In the book, you talk about some of the crazy drills you used to do — lying on your back and running into a shot, starting from your knees, etc. Who helped you develop those? Did you think you were more prepared to hit big shots because of those drills?

  Ray Allen: "I had a lot of people that I worked with. People that would rebound for me, I had a lot of people that I would shoot drills with and go through routines with. But over the years, you kind of figure out what it is you need. And that's kind of, my body, I understood I had to get lift on my jump shot, so I tried to put myself in situations that would force me to have to work a little bit harder to get to that same lift."

  Davis: In the book, you said while you were on the Seattle SuperSonics the team didn't regularly provide food before games or luggage. How much has the league changed over time in that regard, and do you think there was one person influential in changing it?

  Allen: "Well, as you move around the league you just realize the teams that really take care of your players. And for most people on the outside looking in, the first thing that you're going to say is, you know, these guys, they make tons and tons of money and if that was the case, we all could do certain things for ourselves.

  "But what people don't realize is you're still working for an organization, regardless of what your salary is — that's negotiated in the beginning — but working conditions are pretty different as you move from team to team. How you travel, how they write the schedule, what your facilities look like, whether you have a chef on duty or not. All these things force you to have to either do the extra things to measure, especially if you come from a place that had those things, then you have to figure out how to adjust. So it's just the small things that when you go to an organization where they take care of everything for you, it allows you to just kind of settle in, take care of your family, and be the best player you can be. And you do notice it in your play."

  Davis: Was there a team that stood out to you for doing all that and taking care of their players?

  Allen: "I would say that Boston really was probably the place that, organizationally, we always, I guess you could say we didn't really worry about a lot of things off the court. Scheduling wise, it wasn't a problem. Doc [Rivers] always made sure that he fought for us when it came to appearances, like he didn't want people to be trying to over-inundate us with keeping us busy off the court. He wanted us to get our rest. He adjusted the practice schedule, based on what he felt was necessary for us to get rest. He always asked us what time we wanted to practice. Practice sometimes consistently was 9 or 10 throughout my career. But with Doc sometimes we practiced at 1 or 2 because he wanted guys to be able to rest. He wanted you to be able to do whatever it is you need to do in your morning."

  "And so we were never in a rush. It was probably the best sleep in my career that I had gotten because I didn't have to rush and get up first thing in the morning. I could kind of move through my day and do the things that I needed for my children. And everybody's trying to get to work first thing in the morning and we never really had to push into that narrative of being in rush-hour traffic on a daily basis. So they probably made it easiest for us where we could focus and just play basketball."

  ray allen 2
  Ray Allen said the Boston Celtics set the standard for taking care of players. Elsa/Getty
  Davis: You wrote in the book that several times in your career learned you were traded through media reports. How often do players learn about trades through the media? Is it more often than the general public would think?

  Allen: "I believe the general public doesn't understand the protocols for how trades happen. Often times it's a reporter breaking a trade that happens as it's being worked on and the players are always the last ones to know. Typically you get a call from a friend, they've seen something on TV as a trade is in the works. It is somewhat, I would say, for a lack of a better word, tacky and unprofessional for a team to not alert its players if they're trading them.

  "And then you don't even have a conversation after that, that you were traded. Two teams, when I got traded from Milwaukee and Seattle, nobody informed me that I was traded. I was just on my way out. Once I learned of it, it's like, okay, you move on, and I talk to my agents, and you're on the move. When you think you're integral to the success of an organization and then you get traded and then all of the sudden you're on your way out, it's almost like, 'Jeeze I guess I didn't mean that much to them.'"

  Davis: So does it happen more often than most people realize? It seems like a big story nowadays if it's revealed that a player learned he was traded via Twitter.

  ray allen sonics
  Ray Allen said he was not informed by the Milwaukee Bucks or Seattle SuperSonics that he was being traded. Otto Greule Jr/Getty
  Allen: "It happens way more often you would imagine. And that's why often times I appreciate when guys take their own situation into their hands, when they're able to control the narrative and go where they want. We always talk how it's never about loyalty. It's not about whether a team's loyal to you. Because you could play for a team for 10 years and they'll trade you in the 11th year because they gotta get younger or they gotta figure out what's going to be best for the future. It's not about loyalty to that player; it's about what is going to sustain your franchise.
  "And then the players gotta think, how can I maximize my long-term dollar and at the same time consider possibly winning a championship? So on both sides, it's always about business."

  Davis: You talked about having to adapt to a smaller role when you got traded to Boston. In the age of super-teams, what advice would you give star players who have teamed up and have to accept smaller roles?

  Allen: "Well, first of all, I don't believe that there's super-teams. Because you look at a player that was dominant on another team, you come together, you have so much talent on one team. But the way that people are framing it, like these guys are so unstoppable, but it requires five players on the floor. Any five is capable of beating the next five any given night, and so, typically all you gotta do is be good on that night. And then you build up a routine or rhythm as to who and how your team is going to compete daily.

  "For me, when you fall into that mode, you're assuming we're a super-team based on what we did in our past, but moving forward, we can't do those same things if we want to be successful and win as a unit together. It requires each one of us to really take a backseat at some point in time, in some game, whatever it may be, in order for us to be successful long term."

  Davis: What would you tell someone like Carmelo Anthony, for example, about taking a backseat? He's moved into a smaller role behind Russell Westbrook and Paul George on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

  Allen: "Well if you truly want to win you kind of have to reinvent yourself. You have to kinda strip yourself of everything that you've known up until this point. You're no longer the guy, the lead man, the go-to player. And if you have this argument or fight with yourself or you talk about how you're not getting the touches, you're going to struggle. It requires you to figure out what the new situation presents you. And when you find that, you'll have your days where you'll have your big numbers, and then you'll have your days where you'll be rock-bottom numbers, numbers that you haven't experienced before. But if it's for the good of the team and you're winning, that's what's most important."

  Davis: When you played with LeBron James, what did you take away from his preparation for games, especially taking care of his body? Did anything stand out? Did you ever teach him anything?

  ray allen lebron
  Ray Allen and LeBron James shared a mutual interest in their intense preparation for games. Streeter Lecka/Getty
  Allen: "I believe that we, just being around each other and talking about the things that we do to make our games better, the things that I've done, the way that I've eaten, I think he just picked up on it. He's allowed it to grow into who he is. He's always kind of trying to figure out, as his body gets older, how to learn to eat moving forward. I just think that's always been a great example for him. Everybody that he's played with, his good friends, have kinda pushed the envelope so he could get better."
  Davis: Do you know anything about the time LeBron supposedly gained seven pounds in an Eastern Conference Finals game?

  Allen: "Uh... no I don't."

  Davis: There was a story on ESPN a few weeks ago that made the rounds that he once gained seven pounds in an Eastern Conference Finals game and players were baffled. I didn't know if you were on the team or had heard of it.

  Allen: "No, I've never heard of that before."

  Davis: The Miami Heat have a reputation as being a great team when it comes to players' diets and nutrition and fitness. I was wondering if that culture was already there when you played in Miami and if you remember anything about how they took care of players.

  Allen: "I think they were probably one of the few teams that always focused on what a player's body fat is. We had regular body fat checks. Like, I've done it most of my career, but I think with the Heat, they always made sure that it was a regular check that had to be, that most players had to be [held] accountable to.

  "I think program wise, it's pretty consistent around the board for most teams. You have your strength and conditioning coaches and your nutritionists. So it's pretty standard across the league in what each player has to do to take care of his body. That's always been, you learn that early, and you kind of maintain it throughout your career."

  Davis: How close did you come to returning to the NBA over the last few years?

  Allen: "I wasn't close at all. I was just, maybe a year and a half ago I asked, just inquired about a few teams and nothing too serious. I work out and do what I do naturally, but if I was serious, I would have got in the gym and really been pushing my body. But there was nothing serious.

  Davis: Is there a play in your career that sticks out to you as being a really big moment that others don't talk about? The three-pointer in Game 6 of the Finals against the Spurs always gets attention, but is there something you did that people don't talk about?

  Allen: "I guess in regards to that, people will talk about what really particularly tickles their fancy in any given situation. Personally, I focus more on what I do in practice, the stuff that you should see on highlights. You're always proud of the moments you competed when you're in games, but the stuff that we do behind the scenes is probably more what we worry about than anything. For fans, it would be what you put out there is what each particular fan remembers for themselves and how it made them feel."

  ray allen finals
  Ray Allen's game-tying three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals is perhaps his most well-known play. Lynne Sladky/AP
  Davis: Stephen Curry is chasing your record for all-time made threes. How will you feel if/when he breaks it?

  Allen: "Records are made to be broken, just as I broke it. It's something I never even imagined when they told me I was close to it. So it wasn't anything that I aspired to do, so just the fact that I was able to do it when I did it was incredible. The game has changed, so the envelope is going to be pushed for years to come and as it continues to go and go."

  Davis: Do you ever wish you came up in the league in this era where teams are pushing the pace, spreading the floor, shooting more threes, etc.?

  Allen: "No. I mean I served my time when I had it. And I always knew that in my first three or four years, we felt so lucky to be in the game when we got in because of what we were able to do then. So we just were thanking the guys that came before us because we were able to do so much more. So if we do our jobs and grow the game, then the next generation will grow it. It'll continue to build, and that's — you can never have regrets. You just gotta do what you can do with it when you have it."

  Davis: What's one thing you would change about the NBA?

  Allen: "I would make it mandatory that every team has at least, out of 82 games, has a standard slot of games that is on TV. So maybe you play 20 games a year on TV out of 82. And then obviously you get the other markets, the other teams. Because, you just look at the football model and each week, every Sunday, it doesn't matter what your record is, you're going to be on TV and have the opportunity to play. I know our model is different. But it holds these other teams accountable to have to field a competitive team, even when you're in a down year, you still have to compete because you know you're going be on a national stage. So I would give more accountability to those teams by making sure they played on TV more consistently throughout the year.

  Davis: So more big ESPN, TNT, ABC games and such?

  Allen: "Yeah, Sunday games, put them on TV. Typically we go with the Christmas games, we put the best teams on Christmas Day, but I would... put every team would have an opportunity to play. Because I would want to showcase the league. I think it makes a case that every team has to be competitive and accountable to getting better on a daily basis.

  "I've noticed that they'll drag the worst team in the NFL through the mud on the bad decisions they've made and what they need to do to get better, and that accountability does make those owners and those GMs figure out moving forward what they need to do to make their team better."

• Boston Globe - https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2018/03/21/ray-allen-book-excerpts-from-the-outside

  10 things we learned from Ray Allen’s upcoming tell-all book
  Ray Allen Boston Celtics Ray Allen reacts in the fourth quarter against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. –Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
  By Nicole Yang March 21, 2018
  Ray Allen has a story to tell.

  From growing up in South Carolina to playing college basketball at UConn to spending nearly two decades in the NBA, the 42-year-old has seen quite a bit over the course of his basketball career. In an upcoming book, titled “From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love,” the retired guard opens up about his relationships not only with the sport, but also with past teammates and coaches.

  Allen walks readers through the ups and downs of several emotional experiences, including the 2008 championship run with the Celtics.

  Here’s what we learned from the 265-page memoir that goes on sale March 27:

  He and Kevin Garnett met in high school.
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  While playing AAU basketball during the summer between 10th and 11th grade, Allen and Garnett carpooled to games at the University of South Carolina. Allen attended Hillcrest in Dalzell, S.C., which was about 150 miles southeast of Garnett’s hometown of Greenville.

  “The trip took a couple of hours, but that’s what you do if you’re 16 years old and you want to find out how you match up against players older than you,” Allen wrote. “The two of us got to know each other quite well that summer.”

  Allen credited the summer of AAU with improving his level of play, as he gained self-confidence and learned how to be more aggressive on the court. Garnett even started to loosely compare him to Michael Jordan for his ability to score.

  “‘Man, you’re like Jordan,’ Kevin used to say. ‘Every time he scores 30, you score 35.'”

  How Rick Pitino and Kentucky treated him on his recruiting visit helped cement his decision to attend UConn.
  The finalists for Allen’s college basketball career were Alabama, Wake Forest, North Carolina State, Kentucky, and the University of Connecticut. Although he initially thought UConn was referring to the Yukon territory near Alaska, Allen ended up loving Storrs once he visited. In addition to the program’s growing prominence, Allen said he was hooked by coach Jim Calhoun, the players’ close-knit community off the court, and the lack of racial barriers he experienced in the South.

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  “This was the place for me,” he wrote.

  But Allen wanted to be sure, so he visited Lexington.

  When reflecting on how he was treated by UConn, however, Allen said Kentucky couldn’t compare. One of the two defining examples he believed elucidated the difference came when he was eating lunch with forward Jamal Mashburn and his roommate at a restaurant coach Rick Pitino owned.

  “[Coach Pitino] happened to be there that afternoon, sitting with some friends a few tables away,” Allen recounted. “Perfect, I figured, he’ll stop by for a few minutes to say hello, and I’ll learn more to help me make my decision. Only he didn’t stop by. He waved, and that was it. Coach Calhoun would never have ignored us. He and I, in fact, enjoyed several meals together on my visit to Storrs.”

  Allen said Pitino’s approach on his visit to Kentucky helped him realize the importance of being somewhere you are valued — “where it’s clear somebody wants you to be an essential part of what they’re doing.”

  He, at one point, genuinely thought he was going to be drafted by the Celtics.
  Allen declared for the 1996 NBA Draft and was expected to be a lottery pick.

  Just hours before the draft, he received a call from Red Auerbach — then president of the Celtics — who told him the team would take him if he was still on the board. Boston had the sixth overall pick, behind the 76ers, Raptors, Grizzlies, Bucks, and Timberwolves. After Allen Iverson, Marcus Camby, and Shareef Abdur-Rahim went one, two, and three, Allen figured Milwaukee would take him at four.

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  But the Bucks didn’t.

  “The moment I heard the commissioner call out, ‘Stephon Marbury,’ all I could think was: Oh my God! I can’t believe it! I’m going to be a Celtic!” Allen wrote. “There was no way Minnesota, picking right before Boston, was going to take me, not after I wouldn’t show up for the workout.”

  Minnesota did draft him though — and promptly traded him to the Bucks for Marbury. Allen said he immediately started crying after returning to his hotel room. He, once again, felt unwanted.

  “The biggest night of my life, and I couldn’t remember when I felt as devastated.”

  He had mixed feelings when he was traded to the Celtics.
  When the Seattle Supersonics drafted Kevin Durant over a decade later, they also dealt Allen in a trade on the very same night.

  “What was it with me and draft nights?” he wrote. “The Sonics traded me to Boston for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the rights to the Celtics’ No. 5 pick, Jeff Green, a forward from Georgetown. Just like that, I was on the move again.”

  “If anything, I should have been overjoyed, right?” he continued. “After all, this was not some run-of-the-mill franchise they were sending me to. This was the Boston Celtics, as close as it comes to royalty in the NBA. Plus, I would be only an hour from family and friends in Connecticut.”

  But Allen was upset with how the trade went down. He thought he was going to be important part of the Sonics’ plans for the future. To make matters worse, he caught wind of the trade from the media instead of the team.

  He learned early on he and Garnett didn’t mesh well.
  Allen said although he Garnett didn’t cross paths too often in the future after getting to know each other as teenagers, the two “still had a great amount of respect for each other.” Garnett even called Allen for reassurance when Timberwolves-Celtics trade talks were heating up in 2007.

  Once they were on the same team, however, things quickly took a turn.

  Prior to the team’s first contest, Allen started dribbling a basketball in front of his locker — part of his long-established pregame routine. Garnett wasn’t having any of it. Other players in the locker room stayed silent, but Allen said he could tell they knew the clash, albeit small, wasn’t good.

  “Neither of us was willing to give an inch,” Allen wrote. “That’s what happens when you have two alpha dogs in the same room, each determined to impose his will on the other. As franchise players, we were used to having our way.”

  If Allen could select only one player to play with, he would still choose Garnett.
  Despite their very apparent differences, Allen said he would elect to play with Garnett out of all his past teammates from both college and the NBA. As he put it, “no one else comes close.”

  When Joakim Noah once congratulated Garnett on a step-back jumper and asked if he could teach him the shot — an exchange Allen said was common between players in the NBA — Garnett responded, “Get off my dick.”

  “If you’re on his team, he will die for you,” Allen wrote. “If you’re not, he won’t give you the time of day.”

  Allen also appreciated Garnett’s everlasting tenacity — an intangible trait that he felt didn’t necessarily light up the stat sheet.

  “He never took a game off. A possession off,” he wrote. “I can’t say that of anyone else I played with, and I played with some of the best.”

  Paul Pierce, on the other hand, would explicitly announce he was “taking the night off” when matched up against a player who wasn’t considered to be elite. Although it was obviously in jest, Pierce’s attitude ticked Allen off. He was sure to express his disapproval to Pierce, who eventually no longer joked about taking it easy.

  “No player should ever have a night off,” Allen wrote. “The worst player in the NBA would not be in the NBA if he weren’t good, which means he has the potential to beat you on any given night. And if you think you have to put forth a greater effort against the top players, you clearly aren’t giving enough of an effort against everyone else.”

  Doc Rivers took the Big Three on a Duck Boat tour prior to the start of their first season together.
  The day before the Celtics took off for Rome to play a few preseason games, coach Doc Rivers asked Allen, Garnett, and Pierce to meet him at his apartment at 8 a.m. sharp. Rivers wanted to take the trio on a private Duck Boat tour to give them a taste of what’s to come.

  “Get on board, Doc said. He wasn’t kidding,” Allen wrote. “With the whole boat to ourselves, we made our way slowly through the neighborhoods, and then down an embankment and into the water.”

  “‘This is what we’re going to do at the end of the year,’ he said, ‘and it’s important that you guys know what it feels like.'”

  Allen was a big fan of the idea and believed it reflected Rivers’s approach to the game. He “understood the right balance between fun and hard work.”

  “If we lost a few games in a row, he would cancel practice and take us to a movie or come up with another activity to get our minds away from the game,” Allen wrote. “Doc was the first coach I played for where it was not just about basketball; it was about reaching his players as human beings, too.”

  Michael Jordan had warned Allen about a potential future problem for the Celtics.
  Michael Jordan gave Allen a reality check the summer after the Celtics had won their franchise’s 17th championship. He told him: “You guys got lucky. Winning one is lucky. Winning two, now you would be doing something.” Speaking from experience, the six-time NBA champ advised Allen against one of the challenges the team would likely encounter down the road.

  “‘The major problem you’re going to have to worry about is your role players not wanting to play their roles anymore,’ Michael went on. ‘They go home after the season, and everybody tells them how great they are, and it goes to their heads. They come back and want more minutes and more shots.'”

  Allen was initially skeptical about Jordan’s prediction — especially after the team’s 27-3 start — but soon learned, MJ was right.

  “[Rajon] Rondo, [Kendrick Perkins,] and Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis demanded larger roles,” Allen wrote. “There was absolutely nothing wrong with that, in my opinion … Only having a larger role should happen naturally, in the flow of the offense.”

  That wasn’t the case, according to Allen. Davis wanted more touches, but proceeded to take shots before the team was able to develop any kind of rhythm. Rondo, eager to adopt an even bigger role, was “altering the dynamic that had worked so well for [the team] in 2008.”

  “I didn’t have quite the same feeling about the direction we were heading in as I had the year before,” Allen wrote. “No Ubuntu in this group. Too often we had to remind guys to move the ball around, instead of looking out for themselves.”

  His relationship with Rondo was ‘pretty bad for some time.’
  Allen’s tenure with the Celtics ended on a sour note — largely in part to his deteriorating relationship with Rondo. According to Allen, he and Rondo had multiple spats throughout his final three seasons in Boston.

  2009: Allen was told he and Rondo were being traded to the Phoenix Suns because Rondo and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge didn’t get along. When Allen passed this information to Rondo, he didn’t take it well. The deal never ended up happening, but Rondo brought up the issue before practice one day.

  After claiming he “carried” the team to the 2008 championship — and alleging every player on the team “had issues” with him — Rondo called out Allen for saying he was the reason the two were going to get traded. Allen maintained he never said that and was just telling him what he had heard.

  2010-2011: Allen offered to help Rondo with his free throws one day before practice. Rondo’s free-throw percentage hovered around 60-percent that season, so Allen thought improving that shot of his could be a “huge boost” for the team. Rondo, however, was not on board with Allen’s suggestion.

  “Rondo didn’t say a word, but the look on his face said enough: I don’t need your help,” Allen wrote. “I walked away and never offered to work with him again. I can’t help somebody who doesn’t want to help himself.”

  2011-2012: At this point, Allen said Rondo had stopped passing him the ball on the court — even when he was wide open. After a regular-season game against the Pacers, the two started “screaming at each other” in the locker room. Rondo claimed Allen was jealous of him and vouched to “get [his] ass out of here” during the offseason, but Allen said he already had plans to leave anyway.

  When Allen approached Rondo to try an resolve things on the plane home, Rondo was not interested. “I got 11 games to play with you, and that’s it,” he told Allen.

  “There was no point in saying another word,” Allen wrote. “Whatever was between Rondo and me could not be resolved.”

  He believes the criticism surrounding his departure was unfair.
  Allen received significant backlash after signing with the Miami Heat following the 2012 postseason, but he believes the attacks are unwarranted for two reasons.

  1. To him, the Celtics and the Heat were not rivals.

  “So the Heat beat the Celtics two straight years in the playoffs?” he wrote. “You need more than two years to establish a rivalry.”

  2. He wasn’t leaving for more money.

  Allen signed a two-year, $6 million contract with Miami — a significant pay cut compared to Ainge’s two-year, $12 million offer. Allen’s sister, Kim, had helped him realize the final years of his career were no longer about the money. For them, it was more important for the 10-time NBA All-Star to be happy and respected — something he felt was no longer the case in Boston.

  Allen said he regrets not calling Pierce before news of the signing became official, but otherwise, he believes he has “nothing to apologize for.”

  As for when Garnett blatantly ignored him during the Heat’s season opener against the Celtics? Allen said even though he was hurt, he was by no means shocked by the cold reception.

  “KG would have snubbed his grandmother if she signed with another team.”

  “From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love” goes on sale March 27, 2018.

• Boston Globe - https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2018/03/29/ray-allen-new-book-rajon-rondo

  Ray Allen responds to the backlash surrounding his new book
  Hours before tip-off, Ray Allen was on the court shooting. –Globe Staff Photo/Jim Davis
  By March 29, 2018
  Ray Allen seems to be doing just fine.

  The former Celtics guard — whose book, “From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love,” was released Tuesday — isn’t preoccupied with any of the negative feedback he’s received in response to his new memoir.

  “I won’t say it bothers me,” he told Boston.com before speaking to a crowd of fans at the Wilbur Theatre Wednesday. “I’m a person who sometimes is too honest. Once you say what you say and you put it out there, it’s amazing how all of sudden I’m now a person where people have to question my integrity.”

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  Allen’s book, his first, of his basketball career, from friendly pickup games against his father to Big East tournament battles as a UConn Husky to multiple NBA Championship series as both a member of the Celtics and the Heat.

  The 42-year-old stays candid throughout the 265 pages, opening up extensively about a number of his experiences, including the title run with Boston in 2008. Although Allen is confident with his words, others have questioned some of the stories — and his overall motivation behind the decision to write a book.

  “He just wants attention,” former teammate Rajon Rondo told “Obviously, that man is hurting. I don’t know if it’s financially, I don’t know if it’s mentally. He wants to stay relevant.”

  Allen argues that’s not the case: “I definitely don’t need any publicity. I’ve always been cool under the radar.”

  The 10-time NBA All-Star says the project — which took about three years — wasn’t a reckless attempt to make some money or get his name back in the headlines. He says he’s known he’s wanted to write a book for quite some time and actually started drafting a version when he first got to the NBA.

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  The initial copy ultimately ended up falling through, though Allen says he knew the venture was something he’d revisit at some point in the future.

  “I had couple hundred pages, which I don’t know where they are today,” he said. “But I always knew I wanted to write a book because when you go through a life I go through — I think about all the people I’ve met, all the places I’ve been, the games I’ve played — there’s so much to talk about. There’s so many stories.”

  The retired three-point shooter emphasized the importance of not letting stories die with oneself, referencing the 2003 film Big Fish in which — per his abstract of the fantastical movie — “the son thought his dad was lying, but he just lived a magnificent life.”

  As one grows older, Allen recommends making an effort to not only document but also pass along personal accounts, regardless of whether people choose to believe them. To those who challenge his experiences, including some of his former teammates, Allen says he harbors no animosity. Even though some of his relationships have been estranged, he says he’s come to terms with the situation.

  “I don’t particularly have any angst toward anybody,” he said. “You know when somebody’s not for you and you just move in a different direction. There’s no sense from me to be angry at anybody because anger owns you, and I don’t want anything to own me. I want to be a free spirit.”

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  Allen was not invited to join the 2008 championship squad’s reunion, a vacation planned by Rondo, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of their rings. Rondo The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears the decision to exclude Allen was shared among the group of veterans. Paul Pierce also for not attending their charity events, telling ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan the guard was absent for many social gatherings off the court. More details surrounding Allen’s friendships with Rondo, Pierce, and Kevin Garnett are discussed in his book.

  Having been retired since 2014, Allen says it’s “very surprising” to hear people talking about the storylines as they were years ago. The two-time NBA champion acknowledges a lot of the buzz comes with the territory of writing a book, but he also believes much of the over-dramatization can be attributed to the media.

  “People are going to want to talk about it, people are going to want to know what’s in the book, and then they’re going to take small things out of the book to try and stir opinion,” he said. “I’ve always been forthright with the media and I’ve always said how I was feeling. I’ve never felt that I had to say otherwise. I don’t worry about it.”

  “People try to sensationalize the things I say, the things I’ve written, or situations,” he continued. “It’s just part of the media, really.”

  Playing in Boston, of course, heightens the coverage of the reported ongoing drama — something Allen says he experienced as a player. While learning to handle the intense scrutiny, however, his appreciation for the city and its fans grew. When asked if there was anything he’d like to set the record straight about his tenure in Boston, Allen says he just wanted to re-affirm his love for those five seasons.

  “The only thing I want people to understand is that nothing changes about how I feel about the city of Boston,” he said. “My time here was incredible. When we won in 2008, and 2010 was special, that is something that myself and my kids will remember forever.”

  Allen says it was “unfortunate” he had to leave the Celtics, but he has many times before: He made the decision that was best for him. As he spelled out, every team has a choice and every player has a choice, so he went with the one that made the most sense for his professional career and personal life. Allen says he’s appreciative of those who still consider him to be a beloved Boston athlete and of those understood his decision.

  “For those who didn’t, Boston sports fans had every right to be disappointed and I can’t be mad about that either,” he said.

  To those who decide to read his book, including the haters, Allen says he wants to provide “an inspirational beacon” for their own lives. He stresses that failure and adversity were just as important to his development and 19-season career as success and championships.

  “It’s important that people know we get right back up and build ourselves back stronger,” he said. “We’re nothing without the adversity we go through.”

  “That’s what I want people to understand,” he continued. “I have no ill will towards anybody. I’m who I am today, here sitting in front of you, because of all the things I’ve been through. It’s certainly made me a much better player and a better person.”

  Allen says he knows the reception to his book and commentary is going to be mixed — and he’s fully expecting certain readers to skip immediately to the sections about the Celtics — but that doesn’t worry him.

  “You know how people are,” he said. “It’s always a mixed bag. You can’t go into a situation with a bias up. You have to go into with an open mind and be willing to learn one’s journey. It’s like going to a movie, and if you think it’s going to be a certain way, you’re going to end up hating it.”

  To this day, Allen maintains he doesn’t have too many regrets about his career. But if there is one thing he could change, he says he wished he had stretched more as part of his pre- and post-game regimens.

  “I think our bodies get tight and you lose flexibility,” he said. “When you lose flexibility, you lose strength. When you lose strength, you start slowing down a little bit. Long term, when you start slowing down, your career starts to tail off.”

  Tom Brady might know a thing or two about that.

• HarperCollins - https://www.harpercollins.com/author/128303/ray-allen/

  Ray Allen, the most prolific three-point shooter of all time, played in the NBA for 18 years, winning two championships (2008 Boston Celtics, 2013 Miami Heat). Allen, who went to the University of Connecticut, was the 1996 Big East Player of the Year. As a pro, he averaged more than 20 points a game for 10 straight seasons.

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Print Marked Items
From the Outside: My Journey Through
Life and the Game I Love
Publishers Weekly.
265.8 (Feb. 19, 2018): p67.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love
Ray Allen, with Michael Arkush. Dey Street, $27.99 (288p) ISBN 978-0-06-267547-7
Former NBA star Allen recalls his bumpy path to glory in this steady, thoughtful effort. The son of an Air
Force metal technician, Allen hop-scotched the globe before becoming a high school basketball star in
Dalzell, S.C., where his team-mates viewed him as someone who would "do something good with [his] life,
and they most likely would not." He was recruited by the University of Connecticut, where he learned
what's required to go from being a good athlete to a great one: "It is not enough just to arrive early," he
writes. "You also must stick around until your work is done." In the NBA, Allen got a different education,
that basketball is a business. He was traded twice--from the Milwaukee Bucks, whose coach George Karl
didn't bother to tell Allen, and from the Seattle SuperSonics, even after general manager Sam Presti told
him he was part of the team's future. He eventually played for the Boston Celtics, where he thrived, but was
overlooked in favor of LeBron James for the MVP award in the 2008 season. While Allen highlights his
professional accomplishments, details of his personal life are scant: he shares little of his childhood; his
parents' stormy relationship and their divorce; or how he handled being a young father as an NBA
newcomer. Still, Allen's astute telling provides a bracing reminder that athletes' success comes from the
right attitude, the right skills, and the right set of circumstances. (Apr.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love." Publishers Weekly, 19 Feb. 2018, p.
67. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A529357559/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=c0238144. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A529357559
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From the Outside: My Journey through
Life and the Game I Love
Bill Ott
Booklist.
114.12 (Feb. 15, 2018): p14.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love.
By Ray Allen and Michael Arkush.
Mar. 2018. 288p. illus. Morrow/Dey St., $27.99 (9780062675477); e-book, $14.99 (9780062675491).
796.323.
"And then we played ..."--too often those four words are the refrain that drives sports biographies, as star
players recount their careers, game by game, the stunning shots or touchdown runs eventually blurring into
one another like a highlight reel on ESPN. There are plenty of game recaps and certainly a wealth of
stunning shots in this autobiography of Ray Allen--after all, he's the NBA's leader in career three-pointers--
but there's much more than that. With the help of coauthor Arkush, Allen goes behind the box scores to
offer an insightful and notably introspective look at his life in basketball, including 18 years in the NBA and
two championships, one with Boston in 2008 and another in Miami in 2013. Fans will relish the inside look
at Allen's difficult relationships with his coach in Milwaukee, George Karl, and, later, with fellow Celtic
Rajon Rondo, but Allen never dishes just for the fun of it. He's often contrite about his missteps on and off
the court, and, throughout the book, he looks at the game and his part in it with a refreshing, always
thoughtful candor.--Bill Ott
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Ott, Bill. "From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 14.
General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531171493/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=55db25f5. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A531171493

"From the Outside: My Journey Through Life and the Game I Love." Publishers Weekly, 19 Feb. 2018, p. 67. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A529357559/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018. Ott, Bill. "From the Outside: My Journey through Life and the Game I Love." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 14. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531171493/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF. Accessed 13 Aug. 2018.

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