Only One Ray-Ray

NBA Champion.  All-Star.  Olympian.  Marksman.  Thespian.  Gum-chewer.  Ray Allen has taken on many roles in his career.  Having recently usurped Reggie Miller for the 3 point shooting throne, it's worth taking a longer look at what made Ray-Ray so valuable to all the lucky teams for which he's played.

2,561 and counting

1. Robotic accuracy - watching Ray take a free throw or square up for a jumper is like watching a car being assembled: every movement is precisely measured, evaluated, re-calibrated, (and measured again), until it approaches perfection.  Ray Allen is his own Six Sigma black belt.
2. Durability - Ray is a fitness freak.  The metaphor of his body as a machine would be apt except even machines break down over time.  The way he plays today at age 35 is a way in which even rookies struggle to keep up.  This leads to #3.
3. He plays the most annoying style of offense ever - Constantly running from sideline to sideline, over and under 1, 2, and 3 picks for a 1 second window to catch and shoot the ball from about 24 feet away for 35 minutes a game is insane.  Yeah, good luck trying to do that for a career.  Oh wait - he did.  Now consider trying to defend that!  Defenders have been trying to curse his name for years but they were all out of breath.  Dwyane Wade, one of the NBA's best players and athletes, was completely worn out in his recent matchup with the Celtics, affecting not only his jump shot but perhaps his decision-making as he lashed out at Kevin Garnett for a key flagrant foul.  This is just my hypothesis, but I doubt the normally stoic star has a similar reaction if he isn't gassed and frustrated by the relentless #20.
4. He's unflappable - "Timeout called: Celtics.  20 second timeout."  Ray walks over to the huddle, chews his gum, listens to Doc's play, nods, goes back to work.  Doesn't matter if it's a close game where he needs to nail a trey or an easy victory over the hapless Raptors, he plays the same way no matter what the circumstances.
5. He's a team player - Ray was the main event on some of his earlier teams, but he realized that he occupies a specific role in the Voltron that is the Boston Celtics.  He's the guy who lifts the crowd and his team with a crucial 3.  He's the guy who gets the ball with the clock winding down to seal the game with clutch free throws.  And like fellow marksman Harry Callahan, he's the guy who gets the job done.

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On to other no less man-crush-related news, star Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg has hung up the skates for good.  For those that don't know Forsberg, he's basically the hockey version of Yao Ming, except much more talented.  The biggest Swedish export since IKEA, Forsberg won at basically every level including two Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, and he was honored in 2003 with the Hart Trophy for NHL MVP.  "Foppa" was maligned by ankle pain that severely stunted his ability to skate as his career progressed.

At his best, he would literally skate circles around an opposing team (video) while looking for the perfect play... and he almost always found that play.  Offensively he had the type of skill that made his style of play seem nonchalant and common-sensical, while defensively he had a knack for completely mauling anyone caught unawares.  Had he been more durable, I truly believe he'd be universally accepted as one of the greatest to ever play the sport, on par perhaps with Jaromir Jagr.