Ray Allen driven to succeed

The needle on the speedometer bounces past 80, and Ray Allen tightens his grip on the leather steering wheel. He peers over his right shoulder before sliding across two lanes while racing south on Interstate 5 in his black, custom-designed 2002 Ferrari 360 Spider.

Admittedly, he has a fixation for speed, and whenever he pulls the Ferrari out of the driveway of his Issaquah home, his fiancée, Shannon Williams, frets and reminds him not to drive too fast.

Her words, however, fall upon deaf ears.

"I never push it too much," Allen says. "Like, I'll never go speeding for long stretches of time. Just short bursts so you can feel it. You can't not drive a car like this and feel tempted to push it a little bit. Especially when you're on the highway."

His destination is uncertain.

Minutes earlier, Allen had concluded Sonics practice and was looking forward to spending the day with Shannon and his nearly 2-year-old son, Walter Ray III. It was his last respite in Seattle before leaving for a two-game trip and then Houston for today's NBA All-Star Game.

"Let's go for a ride," he says.

He has delayed a few errands to indulge in one of his favorite guilty pleasures. Driving has always been therapeutic for him, and the Sonics' dramatic decline from last season's stellar 52-30 finish to this season's 20-33 mark has him behind the wheel more than ever.

"I know people get disappointed in losing and I do as well, but I'm one of the difference-makers on this team, so I can never let myself get down because I've always got to find a way to make it better," he says. "From that aspect, it's been an interesting year. The schedule is different than last year. There's been certain things we weren't able to do, like spend time with the fellas and make it a more fun environment like the year before.

"Whenever you're in the type of situation that we're in, people will always look for reasons why this happened and come up with excuses. We're missing some guys; Jerome [James] and AD [Antonio Daniels] always kept things light. They made a difference, no question about that."

Losing Daniels, who signed a five-year, $29 million deal with the Washington Wizards in the offseason, was difficult for Allen because it forced him to carry more leadership responsibilities.

Throughout his 10-year career, Allen has always had at least one dynamic, vocal veteran on his team, which allowed him to fade into the backdrop. In Milwaukee it was Sam Cassell, and in Seattle it was Daniels.

It's not a personal attack on co-captain Rashard Lewis when Allen says: "If you're asking if I have a veteran, somebody who's been around and somebody I can bounce things off when things are going bad, then no.

"When things are going bad, you want somebody to step up and be a voice. Sometimes I want somebody to say something and have me say, 'Yeah, you're right.' That hasn't happened. A team needs to hear more than just one voice, and sometimes I feel like I'm talking too much."

When Allen agreed to a five-year, $80 million contract last summer, he understood there were strings attached.

"Win or lose," he says, "I would get the credit and the blame."

So far, because he is having a remarkable season, he has avoided the abuse that fans have lobbed at management and the criticisms that led to coach Bob Weiss' firing last month

Unquestionably, Allen, 30, has entered the prime of his career. The six-time All-Star is averaging a career-best 24.8 points, and his field-goal accuracy (.443) and three-point percentage (.394) are improved from last season.

Those who know him best say he has never been better.

"He is more in control," says Denver's George Karl, who coached Allen for 4 ½ seasons in Milwaukee. "He has more ability to attack. I think he has gotten stronger. His release is incredible, and his range is further.

"I don't know who's a better shooter in basketball. I don't know if there is one right now. Before, when he penetrated, sometimes he'd lose control and lose balance. Now, very seldom is he out of control."

Says Detroit's Richard Hamilton, a Connecticut alum like Allen: "Ray is Ray, and he's going to shoot and score and play his game. I know his team hasn't been doing too well right now, and I just wonder if he knew it would be this hard when he re-signed with them."

On this mild Saturday afternoon, Allen races his Ferrari past the old Rainier Brewery, past the rows of leafy green trees, and the tall Seattle buildings become smaller and smaller in his rearview mirror.

He turns off the highway and weaves through traffic along East Marginal Way, stopping for nothing and no one. Red traffic lights and stop signs are mere suggestions, which are sometimes ignored.

Suddenly, the car glides to a halt in front of the Museum of Flight. This is one of Allen's favorite places in Seattle, which probably makes sense because he spent the bulk of his childhood on Air Force bases around the world.

The Sonics fly in and out of nearby Boeing Field, and oftentimes Allen comes here to reflect. He has never been inside the museum, but enjoys snapping pictures of the F-14 Tomcat fighter planes with his camera phone.

"I love airplanes," he says. "I can't say I love war, but just planes in general. It does something to me; it reaches my soul, or something.

"I used to swing on the swings in elementary school, and the planes would fly above us. I used to always see the A-10s fly so low that you could see the pilots waving to us on the playground."

There was a time when Allen considered joining the Air Force like his father, who was a mechanic. He loved the discipline of the military and wanted to fly jets.

His father, however, pushed him in a different direction. They didn't spend a lot of time together, but as Allen remembers, "When 10 o'clock came up on the weekends, we were always in the gym together playing basketball. I don't think I'd be playing basketball if it wasn't for being around him."

Allen's distant relationship with his father has influenced his relationship with his two children, little Ray and 13-year-old daughter, Tierra, who lives in South Carolina.

She's an avid basketball player and he keeps tabs on her games via e-mails with her eighth-grade coach. Allen brags that she recently scored 30 points and collected 25 rebounds and hopes to get her a scholarship to his alma mater.

"My dad was always gone, just like I'm always away from my son and daughter," he says. "By the end of my career, whatever happens in life, I know I want to take time to just enjoy being around my family. To be able to take the kids to school and watch them play their games."

This weekend, Allen has surrounded himself with his family. The All-Star Game, he says, is more for them than it is for him.

"If I hadn't made it, Shannon and I would go off with the baby to someplace warm," he says. "Every year I make it, it's like they make it, too."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com