From the Outside audiobook

Ray Allen has to be one of my VERY favorite basketball players....Not only is he able to shot the lights out, I absolutely love the balance he brings to the teams he played for with his calm laid back demeanor. The book was actually a glimpse into his life and how he fell in love with the game of basketball. I really enjoyed this story and his perspective about the game and the players he encountered. Although, I must admit he surprised me with some some of the interactions he had with other players who also happen to be some of my favorites and the interactions were disappointing. You expected people to behave better...but, realistically people are people and they act usually they way they were trained....Ray Allen Always the Professional and the Peace keeper....I really enjoyed this story and the narration was excellent.

I won this book through GoodReads First Read Program.I am a sports fan but not a huge basketball fan. As a kid I followed all sport intensely and had favorite teams I followed with a passion. Due to life this has narrowed to baseball. I pay attention to other sports and watch occasional games but my intense following is now limited.That being said, I truly enjoyed Ray Allen's autobiography in which he tells the reader about growing up the son of an Air Force Technician. He started out in California and spent his high school days in South Carolina. He explains how he fell in love with basketball and perfected his game. He also give you a glimpse of what it was like being a college recruit. He ends up going to Connecticut and spends three years there before going to the NBA.The bulk of the book is Allen's description of Allen's 18 year career with the Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle, Supersonics, Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat. He gives you an up-close, in-the-locker-room view of what it is like to be in the NBA. He gives you glimpses into coaches and players who he liked and those he didn't like. He tells you about things he did great such as setting the record for most three point shots made and winning two NBA championships and he tells you about the time he messes up.What I wish we would have heard more about was his life away from basketball. He does tell us about having a baby girl when he was still in high school, his marriage, and 5 kids including one who has diabetes and the problems his wife and he face with that. You don't hear much about his family though. Are his parent's alive? Did he ever rebuild the relationship with his father? What about his siblings? What about his faith? His political leanings? This book focuses on his NBA career, which is great, but I would like to get to know who Ray Allen the man is.

look at ray allen, man, so inspirational.

Should the NBA let kids jump straight to the league from high school? Should they require a year of college? Allen attended 3 ears at UConn. He recommends others do likewise. His reasoning is, it gives the player time to develop and mature. All while having a support system. I disagree. I think the only requirement should be the player's ability. If a high school kid can play, let him play. Let him get paid. If the team wants to protect their investment, they'll catch on. They put in the support systems the kids need. As for the book, it was quite good. Read it in a single sitting. I've long respected Ray Allen, even before he came to the Heat. He's smart. He's cool under pressure. Doesn't hurt that he hit perhaps the most important shot in Finals history. Worth mentioning for Heat fans. He was critical of Eric Spoelstra's practices.

Whether you recognize his name or not, read this inspiring journey reaching professional basketball.

The book From the Outside is an autobiography about Ray Allen's life throughout his childhood and his NBA career. In the beginning, he was a quiet boy that didn't have many friends due to his dad being in the army and them having to move every couple of years. He decided to play basketball and he would play with whoever would join him despite the abundant racism in his neighborhood. Later, when he went to college he became more outspoken and a leader in his community. His ego later caused him difficulties during his time on the Boston Celtics as his top teammates also had big egos that opposed his. Ray Allen had many conflicts throughout his life, however, his main conflict could be his ego. It builds through always being the best on his basketball team as a child and the praise that his coaches always gave him. His ego got him in trouble in college when he butted heads with his coach as Ray Allen thought that he was too good to watch the film on the other team and learn tips from his coach. His ego is later brought down when he is given a low salary contract by the Miami Heat. The Climactic scene of the book was when the Celtics star young player, Rajan Rondo, and Ray Allen had some disagreements on how the team should be run and who should get to be the team ball handler. Rondo did not pass Ray Allen the ball and Rondo promised Allen that he would be off of the team by the end of the season. Allen was lowballed by his contract and was benched causing him to leave for the Miami Heat. I liked the book as Ray Allen is one of my favorite players ever and I wanted to learn more about his life and how the locker rooms of NBA teams actually are behind closed doors. Ray Allen is one of the most interesting players due to the number of times he has been traded and how he has been a leader on all of the teams that he has played for in his career.

If you are a fan of the NBA or basketball, in general, this is a good book. Ray Allen goes through his whole life through his career in the NBA and what it took to get there. Ray Allen talks about his upcoming life in a small town in the south where he encountered racism and people that doubted him. He also gives details of his home life and what it was like going through college. He also talks about his two championship 4 teams NBA career. Not only does he talk about his life but he brings up important lessons that everyone can learn from. One of the biggest lessons he conveyed to the people reading this book, is you can accomplish anything with the right mindset and work ethic. He shows this by coming to practice two hours early every day and staying an hour after, this is a hard task and it's not fun or easy but it's what got him better and got him to the NBA. This book follows Allen through every aspect of his life from where he was from Dalzell, South Carolina. This place is where he experienced poverty and racism and it molded him to be tough, this made him to where he was tough and he wouldn’t listen to anyone’s negativity he would feed on it to prove them wrong. This is a factor that led him to his life in the NBA and to where he leads us to raise a kid in college and how he balanced life and his career. Another thing about this book is its strong theme. The theme throughout his whole is perseverance, the whole reason Ray Allen was successful and even made it in life from his poverty and the small-town uprising was because of perseverance. He worked through the adversity and accomplished his dreams because of his perseverance, determination, and hard work. This is the main theme of the whole book and it is an important message that Ray Allen teaches us. I enjoyed this book and I recommend it to other people trying to read it.

Ray Allen could have been a spoiled NBA brat, a prima donna rich kid. Instead, he became a team leader with wisdom, patience and humility. Those characteristics show in his autobiography and its what makes this a decent read. He touches on some issues, like racism that he dealt with in his career, arguments with other players and coaches, lazy teammates, superstars who only want the ball and don't think about teamwork and the massive amounts of money players get in the NBA, but he's fair and doesn't go overboard. His clashes with George Karl, the Milwaukee coach, were explained well and gave me a different opinion of Karl after reading Allen's book.I was surprised I enjoyed this book as much. I read a lot of sports books and find a lot of bios are just quickly written things about a player's career with little info on other players who cross the subject's path. This was an easy read, but it was also informative. It was a good book on a great player and worth the reader's time to dig into it... especially if you are an NBA fan of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

“CB grabbing the ball, throwing it to me near the corner, the game the season, hanging in the balance. I jumped straight up as if I were in a phone booth and let it go.”(Allen 7) This is how Ray Allen describes the shot of a lifetime, in his first ever book From the Outside. Before getting into - the specifics, you first need to know who Ray Allen is if you already don’t. Ray Allen, who is the record holder for most three-point shots made in NBA history and a winner of two NBA championships played 18 seasons in the NBA which is no small accomplishment. I was given, the book last year as an award from Brooks School. It stayed in my drawer for months. If I am being completely honest I don’t particularly like reading, and if it wasn’t for my personal narrative class I might not have ever touched the book. However I am glad that I did, a captivating work of art, Ray Allen teaches the reader extremely valuable lessons throughout the book. Integrating themes of perseverance, family, as well as racism, Ray Allen hits all the criteria, in my opinion, a reader needs when reading about a person's life. Of course, it is difficult to be enticed by just different events a person goes through, but Ray Allen greatly embodies his author side and allows the reader to feel as if they too experienced the same things he has. Ray Allen, being the talented man he was, never forgotten who brought him to where he was. It wasn’t a family member, or a mentor, or even a coach no, it was God. Ray’s faith in God and the way he talks about his relationship with him was the deal breaker for me.

The story of the life of Ray Allen is a very interesting one. He was a good basketball star in high school, good enough to get a scholarship to the University of Connecticut. Everybody thought that Ray was going to be a good college athlete, but they believed that was where the talent would get him. College. Not the NBA or overseas, just college. Ray wanted to prove them wrong, and he did just that. Not only did he shoot the lights out during his time as a Huskie, he also could dunk at any given moment. From there on, Ray's basketball career is simple history. After getting drafted, he played like a man possessed his rookie year. Heck, he played like a man possessed in his twilight years too, hitting enough three pointers to be known as one of the best three point shooters in the entirety of the NBA. What might be his most memorable moment is how he hit, "The Shot". In the NBA Finals, with the whole series on the line with seconds left, as the ball was being bounced around, it somehow got passed out to Ray standing in the corner. With only seconds left and elimination on the line, he shoots, and he scores, tying Game 6. Ray was truly a legend, on and off the court, and his story is quite humbling to read.

It has been my pleasure & privilege to have had conversations with Ray over the years. This book made me feel like I was having another, albeit one sided conversation with him as I was reading it. I have always found Ray to be inspirational, inciteful, & wise beyond his years. I became a fan of Ray's not for his work ethic, his amazing talent on the court or even for his charity work. I have been following Ray's career since he was a UCONN student & would bring his toddler to with him to watch the UCONN women's games. I thought that spoke volumes about his values & priorities. God may not care that a person can make a jump shot, but He certainly cares about what kind of parent you are.If you are a fan of Ray's (like I am), you won't be disappointed. He doesn't answer all of the questions I had., but like He Got Game", I am hoping for a sequel. Congratulations on your upcoming induction to the Hall of Fame, Ray. Looking forward to see what happens next. Thank you for this amazing journey!

Ray Allen recalls the difficulties of growing up in Dalzell, South Carolina, a troubled neighborhood where kids do not have an aspirational figure to emulate. He highlights how basketball kept him on the straight and true, and how it was the one constant during his nomadic childhood. This was the guy that SLAM once projected to “fade into obscurity”. Allen candidly shares experiences that brought out the best and worst of the people around him. A noticeable pattern was how he would hit it off well with new teammates and coaches at the beginning, only for the relationship to sour as time went by. I was a bit disappointed that he never mentioned Rashard Lewis when they won the 2013 NBA championship with the Miami Heat. After all, it was a culmination of their work together during their tenure with the Seattle Supersonics. All in all, we see a man who preaches routine, and that the truly great players are not only determined by the number of points they scored but by their all-around impact in the game.

Ray Allen is a Hall of Fame basketball player with two championships. Allen's memoir starts at a young age all the way to the end of his basketball career. Allen was never an eye-catching celebrity on or off the court. Allen also stayed married to the same woman and had four kids. Overall, Allen had an impressive career. For many this book will not have the juicy gossip or slander that most celebrity memoirs seems to follow. This is an inspiring book for teens looking for role-models. For avid sports fans, Allen gets into the detail on specific games and playoff scenarios. His comments on training routine and practice schedule is interesting. Allen also provides snippets about coaches and players who he liked and lessons he learned. Allen recommends players to develop and mature in college instead of going straight to the pros. You will respect Ray Allen more after reading this book.

Quick, easy, enjoyable read for any basketball lover. Ray had the sweetest stroke in the game. Period. Not MJ. Not Kobe. Not Reggie Miller. Ray Allen’s jump shot was a thing of beauty.I lived a few doors down from Ray in Belden Hall his freshman year at UCONN. So my rating might be biased. He was a cool dude. Quiet, humble, and a smooth character.It was fun to learn more about his upbringing and especially enjoyed his summary of the NBA years. He opens up more about his relationships in the back third of this book. I love how he calls out players and coaches. He tells the good, bad and gives a fair assessment of his teammates. I always new some of those guys were just not cool. Ray Allen is and always will be cool. Wish he would have added more tales from his college days, but that is me being selfish. Go Huskies!I would recommend this book for NBA and college hoops fans.

From the "Outside" Ray Allen always seemed stoic and reserved, so I found the book refreshing because he let's us in on how he truly feels. Ray opens up about KG, Paul, Raja Rondo, Doc, the Celtics, and LeBron James. I loved how this story was told. It was honest and didn't seem like he threw anyone under a bus. He even takes ownership of some of his mistakes in life and with his teammates in basketball. Ray seems like a really mature man. He puts his family first and basketball second. Ray was a professional who did his job well. However, sometimes when you are mature and others aren't, you may come across as if you are better than they are, but I am glad Ray never became anyone he was not in order to please others or to fit in. No doubt his upbringing had a lot to do with his manners and the respect he shows for others.

First a disclaimer I am a basketball fan. I love the game and the players so this review might be a little bias. So I found this book to be a great read. I have read some sporting biographies that contain so so much filler and therefore feel like they get you nowhere fast. I am not interested in what colour the fan in the 4th row shirt was, or I had this for lunch before I did this. If you like that sort of then this is not the book for you. "From the outside" is not one of those books. It was so fast paced and kept me engaged all the way through and I found it easy to read, with Ray's insights into his career were wonderful. From starting out to playing his last game Ray looks at what some might consider to be his career defining moments. well worth the read

Probably the most candid autobiography I've ever read.Allen doesn't hold back. On everything. And everyone. He has a lot of opinions.Unfortunately, he does it so often that by then end of the book you can't help thinking, gee, it sure would be nice to hear everybody else's side of the story. Without hearing the other side, you just come across as an arrogant know-it-all.But the candid, tell-all book flows very well from beginning to end. There are no dull spots. And all the passages are very concise and to the point. Which is refreshing for an autobiography, as they can sometimes get a little long-winded.

A perfect book, not only about basketball. Allen gives us an opportunity to see a team in a locker room, to hear players and coaches speaking, to read about a real life in a nba. I think that that book isn't really flashy on every page, but it seems to be always honest. I would love to read more books like that - written by KG, Rondo, Lebron, Doc or Sam Cassell. Ray Allen is never rude, but it looks like he is honestly speaking about his years in nba. And when one of the best shooters in a history of basketball is speaking, you just listen. Thank You Mr Ray Allen for your nba journey and for that book. It was a pleasure. :)

Great book great book great bookI loved hearing the story of Ray Allen from his childhood through his almost 20 years in the nbaHe neatly outlined his insecurities being a military kid growing up in different places along with his want for affirmation and securityHe also clearly showed how he became successful through keeping the same routine every single day from college through the pros Lastly he outlined his family dynamics from never receiving love and attention from his father to not always being their for his wife and kids because he was on the road playing gamesOverall I well written book and one I will share with many people