Vince Carter is only the fourth player in NBA history to play 21 seasons, and at 41 years old he’s seen it all.
The 1998 NBA Draft is chock full of future Hall of Famers, assist kings and a guy who we’ve all come to know only as White Chocolate. But aside from players like Dirk Nowitzki, Mike Bibby and Jason Williams, the greatest thing the ’98 Draft brought us was Vince Carter.
Hailing from the University of North Carolina, Carter made an immediate impact on the Toronto Raptors as the fifth overall pick, averaging 18 points per game and five rebounds on his way to win Rookie of the Year. That was 20 years ago. While we all love Vinsanity and the highlights he’s brought to our screens for two decades, let’s face it, Carter is old, and what better way to celebrate his storied career than to take a walk down memory lane.
Let’s start with that aforementioned draft night where Carter was drafted fifth overall. When Carter was about to embark on a phenomenal career, budding Boston Celtics phenom Jayson Tatum was only three months old. Even worse, Carter’s current teammate, the baby-faced Trae Young wasn’t even born yet.
Fast forward to the year 2000, when Carter was proclaiming “it’s over” after he just pulled off the single greatest dunk contest performance in NBA history. The entire world was freaking out about the world legitimately being over with the whole Y2K apocalyptic, end of the world debacle. That also happened to be the year that Carter decided to embarrass 7-foot-2 French national team player Frederic Weis during the Sydney Olympics.
In 2001, when Barry Bonds was breaking records in the Bay Area and the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal era was about to kick off, Carter was putting up 27 points a game and leading the Raptors to a first-round playoff win over the then relevant New York Knicks.
Or how about in 2003 when Michael Jordan was appearing in his final All-Star Game. Carter nobly gave up his starting spot to let His Airness take a final bow before hanging it up for the final time. When Jordan was cementing his career as the GOAT, thanks to Carter, moviegoers were treated to the second installment in the Fast and Furious franchise. 15 years later and we still can’t get enough of Vin Diesel and company racing cars and fighting crime(?).
Two years later Carter’s career in Toronto was nearing a bitter end as the All-Star wanted out of Canada and ultimately got traded to the then-New Jersey Nets and teamed up with Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson to form a Big Three of their own. They never made it past the Eastern Conference semifinals but the tandem of Jefferson and Carter provided an endless reel of highlight dunks courtesy of J. Kidd no-look passes made their postseason shortcomings worth it.
That same year the Vince Carter era ended in Toronto, a similar era was ending on television with the series finale of Friends airing, closing out a 10-season run of the beloved sitcom. In a way Carter’s career in Toronto mirrors Friends run on television. Immediate splash on the scene, hits its peak somewhere in the third or fourth season, but by the time the final season rolls around everyone is out of ideas and is looking for a way out.
Unlike Friends later seasons, Carter continued to contribute in ways as his career progressed. He wasn’t the face of the franchise anymore after he left New Jersey, but his stops in Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis and Sacramento all showed that not only can he still put up points, but he can still fly too.
Carter has seen it all in the league. He caught the tail end of Jordan’s career and was around for the entire Lakers dynasty in the early to mid-2000s. He’s seen dynasties rise and fall in Miami, Boston, LA twice, San Antonio and the Bay Area. Carter’s seen NBA fashion shift from ill-fitted shapeless suits, to bold statements and an important part of the game. He’s played through many different phases of the league, from Phil Jackson’s triangle offense to the Golden State Warriors pace and space era of today.
He’s an eight-time All-Star, former Rookie of the Year and someone who would never chase a championship ring. Vince Carter is one of the final men standing from his draft class and when he decides to hang them up, he’ll be leaving behind a legacy that includes the greatest dunker in NBA history.