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Sorry, LeBron. Apparently, Ray Allen is retiring from basketball to focus on competitive golf

March 23, 2015

Ray Allen recently announced he will stay retired and not join forces with LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers or any other NBA title hopeful. Instead, as pro basketball's playoffs start, Allen will be representing the U.S. on the golf course.

Allen has been added to the list of golfers competing in the first-ever Icons Cup, a Ryder-Cup style event pitting famous American athletes versus international sports stars. The competition will take place as the Jumeirah Golf Golf Estates' Earth Course in Dubai April 22-24.

Other athletes scheduled to participate for Team USA are Ken Griffey Jr., Brett Hull, Mike Modano, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. Fred Couples didn't get the nod to be the next Ryder Cup captain, but he'll lead this squad against Darren Clarke's Team Rest of the World. After all, Couples has a decent record of beating the rest of the world in the Presidents Cup.

Clarke's team includes soccer stars Gabriel Batistuta, Luis Figo and Andriy Shevchenko. The 12-man rosters for both sides are still being finalized.

Allen, a two-time NBA champion, ranked No. 60 in Golf Digest's last ranking of the best athlete golfers in 2009 with a 4.8 handicap. But apparently, the former NBA sharpshooter has been shooting a lot of great rounds since. Allen, who played with President Barack Obama in Martha's Vineyard last summer, currently has a 1.7 index on GHIN.com. In other words, LeBron's loss is Freddie's gain.