Lean Ray Allen Down to His University of Connecticut Weight


Shortly after hitting the biggest shot of the 2013 NBA Finals, Ray Allen got right back to work. Allen showed up to the Miami Heat’s training camp in perhaps the best shape of his career. Per the Miami Herald: “A few days after the Finals, Allen began the ‘paleo’ diet, removing all carbohydrates and sugars from his diet. Before he even began his famously rigorous offseason training, Allen had dropped 10 pounds. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra wasn’t exaggerating at the beginning of training camp when he said Allen reinvented himself in the offseason. At 38 years old and with 17 years in the league, Allen worked himself down to 197 pounds, which is the lightest he has been since his days starring at the University of Connecticut. ‘The first three or four days, it was a task because I was getting headaches, my body felt like achy, but I just started living on salads and fruit and protein and salmon and chicken and I didn’t have soda, any Gatorade,’ Allen said. ‘I had unsweetened iced tea and water and that’s it.’ The result has been on display this week in a ballroom at a convention center at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort. Spoelstra noted Thursday how fast Allen has been zipping through camp. Many of the Heat’s players dropped weight this offseason, but Allen took the suggestion made by Pat Riley to the extreme. Allen said Thursday that this training camp is ‘night and day for me just knowing the routine. We’re an up-tempo team, and I’m used to that running. Last year it was tough for me because we hadn’t ran as much in training camp the last couple years, so coming back into it and not having to think about the concepts. I can just get into them right away.’ Of course, Allen’s learning curve has been added by his meticulous nature. ‘He’s the most disciplined guy I’ve ever played with,’ said Shane Battier, who also reported to training camp in great shape. ‘Some would say he’s borderline psychotic when it comes to his regimen.’ Said Allen: ‘Obviously, you want to continue to build championship habits, but we don’t win this year because we won last year. You win this year because you start building habits and you build championship habits. You come together as a team and find ways to improve on all your weaknesses.'”