Ray Allen (Miami Heat)
Ray Allen is a special player on this list, because he is the only one to win a championship with multiple teams. The astounding 3-point shooter would find Finals success in his later career, with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. The bummer here is, unlike the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Supersonics, and Boston Celtics, Allen holds no franchise records with the Heat.
Allen’s prime is split between his time with the Bucks and Supersonics, two teams that struggled to make it far in the playoffs. During his seven years with the Bucks, they had three playoff berths; this resulted in two first round eliminations and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Then with the Supersonics, Allen saw the playoffs once, a second round loss to the eventual league champions, the San Antonio Spurs.
The 10-time NBA All-Star spent the first decade of his career as a phenomenal shooter, but was stuck on a team that lacked depth to do any real damage. With the frustration of playing several years for teams that showed little signs of improving, his 2008 championship run in Boston is justifiable. He ended up giving the city five years of his career, was still producing as a starter, and was embraced in Boston during his time as a member of the ‘Boston Three Party’, the elite trio also including Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
What is not justifiable is his decision to spend the end of his career with the Miami Heat. This is a team that, since the arrival of LeBron James, had made the Finals the past two years. He had proved valuable to the Heat’s 2013 championship run, but essentially jumped ship on Boston to ring chase in the last two years of his career.
While Allen did win a ring with the heavily favored Heat dynasty, the ring does not hold the same value as Boston’s, a team that went from a lottery pick team to champions in one season. He mixed well with the Celtics organization and staying for the long haul would have been a more honorable move. Trying to go all the way with the Supersonics or Bucks, though very unlikely, would have also been a greater feat for Allen.