He’s got game…and a college degree.
NBA legend Ray Allen received a bachelor’s degree in general studies from the University of Connecticut (UConn) according to a report by CBS Sports.
He attended the school from 1993-1996 and played for its team until he joined the NBA. Allen was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the fifth pick of the 1996 NBA draft and was later traded to the Milwaukee Bucks where he went on to sign a 3-year, $6.2 million contract with the team.
To date, he is the only UConn men’s basketball player with his jersey retired, per Connecticut’s Hartford Courant.
Joe Arruda of the outlet shared that Allen began taking classes again in 2008 and focused more of his time on completing the degree during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I was in school, there was a couple of RAs that were in their 30s and I thought, ‘Wow, they’re still in school. It’s never too late to learn,'” Allen said.
“This day isn’t about me, it’s about the people that helped me along the way to finish this mission, be on this journey to graduate from college. And you got to do it by yourself but it’s made up of a lot of people around you, so I didn’t want it to be about me walking in and everybody, you know. These kids are on their individual journeys, so I was so inspired to be sitting next to them and talking to them.”