Certified 1997 Score Board Ray Allen Signed Basketball trading card

Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in September 2018.

Allen played college basketball for the Connecticut Huskies for three seasons, gaining a reputation as an efficient long-range shooter. He entered the NBA in 1996 as the fifth overall selection. In the NBA, he developed into a prolific scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks, featuring alongside Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell as the team achieved playoff success. However, the trio were unable to capture a championship, and Allen was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics. In Seattle, Allen's reputation as a scorer was solidified; he would break several league records for three-point and free throw shooting. Despite this, a title still eluded Allen, and he was traded to the Boston Celtics in 2007.

In Boston, Allen and new teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce formed a "Big Three" and had immediate success, winning an NBA championship in 2008. He remained with the franchise for five seasons, before departing in free agency to join the Miami Heat for two seasons. In Miami, Allen accepted a reserve role, emphasizing spot-up and clutch shooting, which allowed him to capture another championship in 2013. His clutch three-pointer to tie Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals with 5.2 seconds remaining is regarded as one of the most memorable plays in NBA history.

Allen's list of individual accolades are extensive; he gained ten NBA All-Star designations, he won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the 2000 United States men's basketball team, he holds the NBA record in career three-point field goals made in the regular season, and has additionally scored the third most three-pointers in the postseason. He is widely considered one of the greatest shooters of all-time.

During his NBA career, Allen acted during some offseasons. He is best known for his role as basketball prodigy Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game (1998). Allen's performance as Shuttlesworth was greatly praised by critics, and the name was borrowed as Allen's basketball nickname.