Ray Allen might still have some simmering beef with the Boston Celtics, but his Miami Heat teammates were overjoyed at the news he was heading to the Hall of Fame.
Allen’s induction was officially announced on Saturday hours before the NCAA Men’s Final Four, joining an impressive group of 13 basketball legends including Steve Nash, Grant Hill, Maurice Cheeks and Tina Thompson.
Allen, who won a title each with the Celtics and Heat, saw former Miami teammate Dwyane Wade shower him with praise after the announcement. Wade posted his congratulations to Twitter on Saturday afternoon, crediting Allen for “saving” the Heat’s title with his game-tying shot in Game 6 of the NBA Finals in 2013.
Game 6!!! Enough said!!! Congrts to my brother Ray Allen for being inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame!!! & THANK you for saving our Championship season. #Yousabadboy pic.twitter.com/2iA6HKHr16
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 31, 2018
The shot famously sent the game to overtime, which allowed the Heat to win game six and, eventually, win the series in seven games. Here’s video of the shot in question, unless you’re a San Antonio Spurs fan because you’ve already had a bad enough day.
It’s good to see a former teammate embrace Allen because he’s taken a ton of flack over the years for the free agent decision that landed him in Miami in the first place. That’s all been well-documented, and Allen hasn’t backed down from his stance that he made the best decision for his family and his career.
Allen was an essential piece to that Heat title in 2013 and that shot is an important part of his legacy. He knows there will always be resentment for what happened with his breakup with the Celtics, but his accomplishments can’t be diminished by any of the talk he can’t control.
