NBA champion and Hall of Famer Ray Allen is the latest professional basketball player to earn a college degree after leaving school early to pursue a career in the sports world.
According to CBS Sports, former Boston Celtics and Miami Heat player Ray Allen earned his bachelor’s degree in general studies from the University of Connecticut (UConn) over the weekend. He follows in the footsteps of fellow NBA champions Steph Curry and Gary Payton II, who recently returned to their respective universities to earn their college degrees.
Allen left UConn as a junior in 1996 after playing three years at the famed university. The Minnesota Timberwolves drafted him as the No. 5 overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft. Although they selected him, he was immediately traded to the Milwaukee Bucks. He played in the NBA for 18 seasons with four teams (Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle SuperSonics, Boston Celtics, and Miami Heat).
He is the only UConn men’s basketball player whose jersey has been retired by the university.
“When I was in school there was a couple of RAs that were in their 30s and I thought, Wow, they’re still in school. It’s never too late to learn,” Allen told The Hartford Courant. “This day isn’t about me, it’s about the people that helped me along the way to finish this
mission, be on this journey to graduate from college. And you got to do it by yourself but it’s made up of a lot of people around you, so I didn’t want it to be about me walking in and everybody, you know. These kids are on their individual journeys, so I was so inspired to be sitting next to them and talking to them.”Allen became a highly-sought after player while averaging 19
points per game in his three seasons at UConn. He won USA Basketball’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1995. He became a legend by becoming the NBA record holder for 3-pointers after he recorded 2,973 in his career. Steph Curry smashed that record on December 14, 2021.Before retiring, he won NBA championships with the Boston Celtics (2008) and the Miami Heat (2013) and was also a 10-time NBA All-Star.