Ray Allen officially retires from NBA with letter to younger self

After the 2013-14 season, Ray Allen didn’t sign with an NBA team, but the possibility remained that he could sign with a contender at some point during the 2014-15 season.

That never happened, and Allen didn’t play in 2015-16 either.

On Tuesday morning at age 41, Allen officially announced the end of his 18-year NBA career in a self-written article in The Players’ Tribune, ensuring there would be no late-career comeback, though given the way he took care of his body, he could probably suit for an NBA team today.

In the article — written in the form of a letter to his 13-year-old self — Allen wrote, “I write this to you today as a 41-year-old man who is retiring from the game. I write to you as a man who is completely at peace with himself.”

Allen is one of the NBA’s greatest shooters, a player who came along just when the three-point shot started to take on greater meaning in the league.

A 10-time All-Star who was drafted with the fifth overall pick in the 1996 draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Allen ends his career as the all-time leader in made three-pointers (2,973) and first in attempted three-pointers (7,429). He averaged 18.9 points, 3.4 assists, 4.1 rebounds and shot 40% from beyond the arc in his Hall of Fame career.

He won two championships – one with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett in Boston in 2008 and one with LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami in 2013 – and his three-pointer in Game 6 of the 2013 Finals against San Antonio is one of the most memorable plays in Finals history. With the Spurs on the verge of winning the title, Allen made an incredible three-pointer – backpedaling into a corner three without looking at the out-of-bounds lines and quickly launching a shot that forced overtime. The Heat won Game 6 and Game 7.

“That’s going to go down in history as one of the greatest clutch shots ever,” James said.

Allen worked on those kinds of shots, never knowing when he might need to execute on a scenario like that.

Allen was known for his work ethic that bordered on obsessive-compulsive disorder. He was particular about everything, including what he ate. In his letter, Allen wrote, “The personalities on those two teams (Boston, Miami) will be different, but both teams will have the same thing in common: habits. Boring old habits. I know you want me to let you in on some big secret to success in the NBA. The secret is there is no secret. It’s just boring old habits.”

Allen loved the habits, he loved the work.