Vince Carter ejected after elbowing Devin Booker in face (Video)

Vince Carter couldn’t veteran talk his way out of this ejection

Vince Carter might be a long time veteran that knows the ins and outs of the NBA, but even he can lose his temper at times. As the Memphis Grizzlies took on the Phoenix Suns, Carter posted up Devin Booker and attempted to drive by him. He’s probably done this hundreds of times before and drawn multiple fouls, or at least created some space on his way to the basket. This time, however, his drive to the rim didn’t go as planned.

After getting driven by, Booker reached in to try and poke the ball loose from Carter which resulted in a foul. After the reach in Carter raises his arm in the air and elbows Booker straight in the face. At first the elbow appears to be accidental, but upon review it’s very clear that Carter was intentionally trying to hit Booker in some fashion.

When the whistle is blown Carter stops dribbling and picks up the ball, and then he throws his arm in Booker’s direction. Whether he meant to elbow him in the face or not is up for debate, but he clearly didn’t care about making contact with Booker. This is really sad to see from one of the NBA’s greatest players. He’s above moments like this and isn’t very well known for them. It’s odd to see him do something that’s so bush league.

After review, Carter was deservedly ejected from the game. Even if intention wasn’t there he was being extremely reckless and putting Booker in danger. Credit towards Booker for not reacting and trying to quell his teammates after they approached Carter. Most young players would be looking for a fight after a play like this, but he chose to walk it off. A mature move on his part.