Boston Celtics: Ray Allen admits he purposely broke 3-point record at T.D. Garden

Boston Celtics legend Ray Allen recently admitted to Vince Carter on his Peyton Manning-produced ESPN+ Vince’s Places series that he purposely avoided taking 3-pointers in Charlotte back in February of 2011 in order to break Reggie Miller’s all-time record–of course since shattered by Steph Curry–at the T.D. Garden in Boston the next game.

It was a strategy that made sense from a marketing perspective, as the Celtics’ next matchup was against the Los Angeles Lakers in a 2010 NBA Finals rematch, a series that went the full seven games. Unfortunately, Boston lost both of those contests against the Bobcats and Lakers, perhaps too preoccupied by Allen’s individual achievement.

It’s a good thing player props weren’t as prominent back then. Or perhaps a bad thing for 3-point total under bettors.

Here was Allen’s admission to Carter:

"“We played the Bobcats the game before…My family lives in Charlotte so everybody was like, ‘That’s so awesome, we’re going to get to see you break the three-point record!’ And I said, ‘No, you’re not. It’s not going to happen tonight.’”"

The Boston Celtics have two a potential 3-point record-breaker on the current roster

Jayson Tatum already owns several records for players under the age of 24, including made 3-point shots and 3-point attempts in the postseason. In terms of long-range shot-makers in the 2021-22 season, Tatum’s 230 made 3-pointers ranked ninth in the league.

By the time his career is done, assuming he sticks it out with Boston through thick (like the current postseason run, and his first three seasons) and thin (like the 2020-21 season and the first half of this past one) and doesn’t leave, Tatum could surpass Paul Pierce for most of, if not all of, the franchise’s scoring and 3-point shooting records.