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Walter Ray Allen Jr. (born July 20, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Allen played 18 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 2018. He is widely considered one of the greatest three-point shooters of all time. Allen was a ten-time NBA All-Star, and won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the 2000 United States men's basketball team. At the time of his retirement, he was the leading three-point scorer in NBA history until he was surpassed by Stephen Curry in 2021. As of 2025, he ranks third on the NBA's all-time three-pointers list. In 2021, he was selected to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.
Allen played college basketball for the Connecticut Huskies for three seasons, before he was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and developed into a prolific scorer for the Milwaukee Bucks, featuring alongside Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell as the team achieved playoff success. In 2003, he was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics, where he solidified his reputation as a scorer, breaking several league records for three-point and free throw shooting. Allen was later traded to the Boston Celtics, where he formed a "Big Three" with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce; the team won an NBA championship in 2008. After five seasons with the Celtics, he played with the Miami Heat for two seasons, reaching the NBA Finals both times and winning the title in 2013; his clutch three-pointer in the 2013 Finals to force overtime is regarded as one of the most iconic and memorable plays in NBA history. Allen retired on November 1, 2016, after playing for four different teams.
During his NBA career, Allen acted in some films, such as his role as basketball prodigy Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's basketball drama He Got Game (1998). Allen's performance as Shuttlesworth was praised by critics, and the name was borrowed as Allen's basketball nickname.[1][2][3]
- ^ Levy, Emanuel (April 27, 1998). "He Got Game". Variety. Archived from the original on March 10, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (May 1, 1998). "He Got Game". Rogerebert.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ Edelstein, David (May 3, 1998). "He Got Balls". Slate. Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2020.