Today in Tha Wire it's official, NBA legend/actor Ray Allen is retiring.  Taking a page from Kobe Bryant's playbook, the pro-baller made the announcement by posting a letter on The Player's Tribune.  Something that's become a custom on the site as athletes retire and reminisce about their lives and careers.  In reality Allen hasn't played ball since the 2013-14 season wrapped-up in Miami.  Yet he never said he was done..till now.  Over the last couple of years there were rumors he's was gonna make a comeback, but according to reports he confirmed yesterday that's never gonna happen.

Ray Allen is saying goodbye to a game he's played professionally, since 1996.  In parting the 41-year old, 10 time All-Star, penned a letter to his 13-year old self.  He wrote;

When you get off the school bus tomorrow, you’re going to be in a whole new world. This is nothing new. Every time your father gets stationed at a new Air Force base, you have to say goodbye to your friends and start a new life. It’s the same routine once every three years or so. New school, new culture, new faces.

He goes on to give his younger self advice to stick with basketball, not give into peer pressure and encourages himself to stay focused.  To read the entire letter click, here. FYI Ray was a military baby and was constantly relocated, when his farther was stationed to a different base.  Because of this had issues fitting in, but he overcame adversity and used the courts at the Air Force base to sharpen his skills.  After high school and college ball, Allen was picked 5th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, in round 1 of the 1996 NBA draft and the rest is pretty much history.  Below is a look back at his accomplishments throughout his 2 decades in the NBA.

Denzel Washington in the 1998, 
 joint
He Got Game as basketball phenom Jesus Shuttlesworth.  A nickname he carried throughout his basketball career.  At word of his retirement, players and fans took to social media to thank the famous sharpshooter and bid him farewell.
ESPN noted his impressive stats;

Ray Allen has the #1 spot as the NBA's greatest shooter of all time.  He currently holds the record for landing the most career 3-point shots in a regular season.  The former 6'5" guard did a lot for the game and will go down in history as one of the best.  Ray Allen...

You Got Game playa, thanks for the show!!!!!

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