Nice game … Senator? Blessed with all-around skills and an impeccable image, Ray Allen has the Bucks shooting for an NBA title on the court and his own lofty aspirations off it - Interview: Ray Allen - National Basketball Association - Statistical Data Included - Interview

Basketball Digest, Jan, 2002 by Brett Ballantini

BD: So you don't mind thousands of people touting you as the MVP before the first month of the season is over?

RA: If we have an MVP on this team, everybody should welcome that. Or an all-defensive player, coach of the year, whatever, those things are great for the team, great for the fans, great for the city. I welcome that. Hopefully, we can have a lot of accolades spread throughout the locker room at the end of the year.

BD: What's the difference in the team when Anthony Mason is on the court?

RA: We're not always proud of the way we win, but with Mason down there in the post, we can score. For us, we're a jump-shooting team, and we can take a lot of pressure off of ourselves if when we need a basket, we go down low and slow it up a little, because we play fast. George [Karl] wants to play even faster, and with Mase down there, he'll allow us to still play fast but get better-quality shots in the post

BD: You mention some ugly wins. Is it hard to play a solid 48 minutes?

RA: We're still working on playing strong for four quarters. We have to go back to the lab and put together some concoctions, find that one potion that will allow us to play great basketball start to finish. That dominance is a rarity in the NBA. But winning games is the bottom line, having fun and doing things the right way comes out of that, and that's what we're looking for. But as long as we win, that's the bottom line.

BD: For as much as the Bucks have been criticized as soft, you guys don't quit. No lead is safe against you.

RA: There's no team like us in the NBA, so teams want to find the angle on us, the weakness in the armor. We have a lot of weaknesses we have to hide. We want to play good basketball, but fans, media, or anybody in this organization knows we have to hide some things. We've been able to hide them, even though our basketball hasn't been perfect. Everybody on this team has all-around talent on the basketball court. When we get a complete effort, the sky's the limit for us.

BD: You've ascended from star status to a truly unstoppable force after your performance in last year's playoffs. Do you feel pressure to take over games and enhance your status as an elite player?

RA: When I signed my contract extension a couple years ago, I said that my game was not going to change. I'm going to still shoot jump shots and drive to the hole when I have the opportunity, I'll work on my defense and become a great all-around defensive player, I'd like to be on the all-defensive team one of these days. That's what you can expect from me. I may learn to play harder and more efficiently, and use my head more, but how I play basketball is not going to change.

If I win the MVP this year, I'm going to be playing the same basketball, but our team is going to be better. We're going to be winning, so people will be looking at me differently. Nothing will be changed other than we'll be playing harder and I'll be at the helm of that as one of the leaders of a great team. When people ask why this team wins, they'll have to look at me as one of the leaders if I'm putting up the numbers.