“What the ‘zone’ is like? If I had a tape and show people, this is what it’s like!! You can’t explain it, it just happens”: Ray Allen’s career-high game is a treat and also a big learning for any basketball player or a fan

Akash Murty | 13/01/2022
What the ‘zone’ is like? If I had a tape and show people, this is what it’s like!! You can’t explain it, it just happens": Ray Allen's career-high game is a treat and also a big learning for any basketball player or a fan

Ray Allen’s time with the Seattle SuperSonics brought the best out of one of the top shooters in NBA.

In between getting drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1996 and joining the Boston Celtics in 2007, Ray Allen had a 4-year stoppage at one of the most lively basketball supporting cities, Seattle. With the Seattle SuperSonics, Allen played the best basketball of his life.

One of the greatest shooters of all time, Ray was always a consistent scorer since coming into the league. But he never averaged 23 or more points before coming to Seattle or even after going out.

With the Sonics though, his average crossed that margin in all four years of his stay. He even averaged 25 and above in his latter two years. He was in an entirely different zone when he played for the Sonics, he has addressed that himself.

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Ray Allen’s zone was different

Allen’s control in his craft and his body separated him from almost everyone. Arguably the owner of the best shooting form ever, he was so adept at altering his flight path with mid-course corrections that he often avoided contact altogether, thus losing out on a trip to the foul line throughout his career.

That might be the greatest as well as coldest pump fake ever. Ray’s Indiana Pacers counterpart, Reggie Miller rather used to get contacts while shooting on a consistent basis, earning a tremendous amount of free throws in the process. But this never stopped Allen to put up big games, rather it helped him to get in his zone.

Not only did he score a career-high in his final season with the Sonics in 2007, but the 10-time All-Star also averaged a career-high in points – 26.4 per game. But without help, he failed to take the team to the Playoffs for the second consecutive season, which forced him to take his talents to the Boston Celtics after that season.

Also read: “The Celtics are undefeated when Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both score 30+ points!”: How the Boston duo dominated the Pacers while showing flashes of greatness together

Although he never played as well he did in his Seattle days, the 2-time NBA champ was a crucial part of both his championship teams in Boston and Miami. Coming off as a role player for the Heat team, Allen had the lowest scoring seasons for his career in his last two years in the league.

But it was the period of his career for which he might be remembered the most when he made arguably the most clutch shot in the NBA’s history from the 3-point line against the Spurs in game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

 

 

Post Edited By: Arjun Julka
boston cletics Miami Heat Ray Allen seattle supersonics

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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