Milwaukee Bucks: Ray Allen’s greatest moments as a Buck

Ray takes flight on All-Star stage

While the defining trait of his career was seen in his signature shooting stroke, Allen possessed and played with a much greater level of athleticism than he is often given credit for, especially early in his career.

There’s no better example of that than seeing early, often grainy highlights of Allen strolling down the lane only to then explode off of one or two feet and send home a highlight-worthy dunk. It was in the 1997 NBA Slam Dunk Contest where Allen looked to display his hops and dunking ability during that year’s All-Star Weekend as a rookie.

Matching up against the likes of Bob Sura, Chris Carr, Michael Finley, future teammate Darvin Ham and fellow rookie Kobe Bryant, Allen went about his business in the air with a calm, albeit unspectacular glide through the air, outside of one errant attempt that hit off the back iron of the rim.

Unfortunately, it didn’t do much to sway the minds of the competition’s judges as Allen finished fourth, missing out on making the final that consisted of Carr, Finley and Bryant, who would later take home the dunking crown.

As of this writing, Allen stands in a rare class of Bucks players to to take part in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest as he is one of three to do so, the others being Paul Pressey and Giannis Antetokounmpo.