Inside Ray Allen’s Trippy Dreams

Ray-Ray tells WEEI that when he closes his eyes at night, he envisions himself flying. Um, OK: “Ray Allen has been having the same dream for years. He envisions it in his sleep and carries it with him on to the court. ‘I always, I have this thing in my mind like sometimes when I’m sleeping I dream that I can fly,’ he said. ‘When I’m playing basketball, it always tells myself that I’ve still got great legs, like I still have that lift in my legs. So when I get on the floor, you see a play, you see something happen, you just feel like you can take it, you can make a certain play happened based on getting up there to the basket.’ Allen doesn’t have wings in his dream. He isn’t a high-flying hero like Superman or Iron Man either. Instead he imagines things like soaring over an oncoming car or running with his friends in the air. It can even be as simple as making it home from a park in a single jump. The dream has a deeper meaning for the 34-year-old than just being able to take flight. To him, it exemplifies the work ethic that he has committed himself to over his 14-year career. ‘I’ve been having that for a long time,’ Allen explained. ‘That’s why when I always wake up, it’s like a great feeling. You wake up and you just know, for me what I do, I get out on the floor and I just feel like I still have that. For me, it translates into my athleticism.’ Athleticism … and perhaps some competition, too? Being able to fly also means he can get places faster than those on foot. It’s another asset to put him ahead of the pack.”