25 Greatest NBA Playoff Performers of All-Time
By Bill Speros
22. Ray Allen
Ray Allen was usually open for a crucial shot when his teams needed most it in the postseason. The 10-time NBA All-Star and gold-medal winning Olympian never blinked in the spotlight. He was a pillar of Boston’s Big Three that rampaged through the 2008 playoffs and destroyed Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in six games in the NBA Finals.
Allen nailed a record seven three-pointers in Boston’s title-clinching victory. Allen’s “most shining moment” came, however, when he was a member of the Miami Heat during the 2013 Finals. The Heat were trailing by three points with their title hopes dwindling in Game 6. Chris Bosh desperately fed Allen after a rebound as Allen backed up toward the right corner. Secure behind the arc, Allen heaved a game-tying shot with 5.2 seconds left.
It was a move that Allen had been practicing for more than a year. It paid off, the Heat won 103-100 in overtime and clichéd their second-straight NBA title two days later. As Allen reportedly told coach Erik Spoelstra: “You never know when you’ll be in a situation where you have to find the three-point line without looking down.
Next: No. 21