With the same poise he displayed throughout his NBA career, Ray Allen closed Friday night’s Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony with an eloquent speech in which he reveled in the accomplishments of his two championship teams and praised key members of the Boston Celtics’ 2008 title squad.cheap nike nfl jerseys china

In a week during which Allen’s fractured relationship with some from that 2008 Celtics team, including Rajon Rondo, hovered over his induction, Allen stayed above the fray. He suggested that former teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will soon join him in Springfield and praised Danny Ainge for assembling that Big Three.

Ainge and Mike Longabardi, an assistant coach on that 2008 title team, were among those in attendance for Friday’s ceremony at Springfield’s Symphony Hall in which 13 new inductees were enshrined.

Allen’s first reference to the Celtics drew loud cheers from fans seated in the balcony.

“In my 12th year, I paired up with a couple of Hall of Famers in Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett,” Allen said after the cheers quieted. “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I’d end up on that [title] stage.”

Allen noted how difficult it was to win titles but kept the focus of his speech on thanking everyone on his basketball odyssey and suggested that hard work was what ultimately delivered him to the stage.

“I don’t believe in talent. I’m here because I worked hard all my life,” Allen said. “Without that work, no one in this room would know who I am besides my family. So to all the kids around the world watching, paying attention and aspiring to be like one of us, or even on this stage one day, put the work in and watch the magical ride you’ll go on.”new nike nfl jerseys cheap

Allen made 2,973 career 3-pointers, the most in NBA history. He won two titles (the other with the Heat in 2013) and made 10 All-Star appearances — three with the Celtics, four with the SuperSonics and three with the Bucks.