NBA Rumors: Ray Allen To Retire After The Finals?

Ray Allen
Ray Allen
Steve Mitchell USA TODAY Sports

Is there an end in sight for the NBA’s all-time leading 3-point shooter?

The Boston Globe says yes. According to a report, Allen, who is set to turn 39 years old next month and will be a free agent, is mulling retirement after the 2014 NBA Finals are in the books.

Win or lose, Allen may be hanging up his cleats after a Hall of Fame-worthy career.

Allen is a free agent-to-be and will turn 39 next month. And while it appears he has plenty left in his finely tuned body, the guard said retirement is an option. He would likely receive his share of offers this summer.

“I guess everything [is factored into the decision],” he said Thursday before the Heat lost to the Spurs, 107-86, in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. “You get away from it, you sit down and get an opportunity to think about it. It depends on how my body feels. I love the condition I’ve been in over the last couple of years. It’s just a natural progression.”

Allen said age isn’t a factor. Instead, he calls it a natural next step in his life. Much of the decision will come down to how his body feels after the Finals wrap up.

“It depends on how my body feels,” Allen told the Globe. “I love the condition I’ve been in over the last couple of years.”

Allen is about to finish his 18th year in the NBA and is knocking on the doorstep of 40. If he decided to suit up again in 2014-15, he would be the league’s third-oldest player behind Steve Nash and Mike James.

The NBA’s all-time leader in the 3-point shots is averaging 9.5 points per game and shooting 39 percent from beyond on the arc in the playoffs, and aren’t too far off from his regular-season statistics.

Everyone wants to know whether Jesus Shuttlesworth has another season left in him. In a few days, we should have a better clue.

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Sam Spiegelman
Sam Spiegelman is a native New Yorker covering sports in New Orleans. He likes Game of Thrones way too much. Tweet him @samspiegs.