Ray Allen earned the right to join the Heat.

His years as a lonely star with the Seattle Supersonics gave him the right. The tough losses with the Milwaukee Bucks gave him the right. And his role in lifting the Boston Celtics back to championship status gave the 10-time All-Star the right to join Miami, or any other team he felt was best. It was the smart decision, the decision to put himself first.

It’s something that professional athletes need to do more. Not deciding solely in the areas of money and offensive touches. Players need to be brave enough to go against the desire of the fans and position themselves to win at the highest level. Many times that requires honest self evaluation and the guts to go against the popular opinion. Allen followed that process and made the choice that worked best for him, a choice that was unpopular among many of the Celtics’ fans and his former teammates. He dealt with the boos, criticism and snub from former teammate Kevin Garnett with class, responding only with well wishes and solid play for his new team.

Things are paying off for Allen 11 months later.

Only he can tell you what he really felt about the way he was treated after deciding to leave the Celtics, but none of that really matters. He’s four wins away from his second NBA title and his decision to join the Heat has been validated. That, however, wasn’t what this was all about. Allen just wanted to win and made a move to have a chance and he’s enjoying every moment of the ride.

“Just pure joy,” Allen said. “Just getting back here. This is my third time, and this feeling never leaves. It never gets old.”

Allen hasn’t looked at the Heat’s success as a method of validating his choice to leave Boston, that’s something that most of us media folks are doing. Allen won’t be spending too much time focusing on his personal journey; it’s not more important than the task at hand. He hasn’t realized his goal yet and that goal is more of a priority than showing people he made the right choice.

“I don't really worry about that,” Allen said. “Once I've made my decision to come here, that was all. Getting to this moment, this is why I came here. So that's been my whole goal.”

For the first time in his career, Allen came off the bench for the Heat. This type of adjustment has proven to be tough for players of Allen’s caliber in the past, choosing to lighten their load rather than relinquish their starting role. Allen, however, accepted his new role without issue and immediately started looking for ways to have an impact off the bench. It’s a role he’s thrived in this season without many problems.

“Not too tough an adjustment,” Allen said. “Just knowing where the scoring zone for me is going to be, and when to attack. I was used to certain sets in certain times. I had to rethink how those shots were coming.”

Allen’s business-like approach is one of the things that’s made the sharpshooting guard’s time in Miami successful. While many people want to focus on his decision to join the Heat and his acceptance of his new role as a reserve, Allen can’t help but focus on basketball. Every answer he gives you will always come back to the game and how it’s supposed to be played; it’s just the way he thinks. He’s only focused on winning a title and the only thing he’ll spend time on is making sure he understands what his role in that will be.

That’s just who Ray Allen and understanding him makes the other things, specifically his decision to join the Heat, easy to understand.