The Toronto Raptors pull <a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/01/guide-to-tv-programs-broadcast-on-sky-sports-nba-20/" title="Guide to TV programs broadcast on Sky Sports NBA“>Vince Carter‘s jersey under the roof of the hall. “Air Canada” left a lasting impression with his dunkings.
The fact that it was 66:63 for the Canadians at halftime in the NBA game between the Toronto Raptors and the Sacramento Kings was more of a side note (final score 131:128). The highlight of the evening came after two quarters. Vince Carter’s number 15 jersey was ceremoniously hoisted under the ceiling of the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
“If that jersey goes up there right now,” Carter said during his speech, “it’s not ‘Carter, 15″ that’s going up there. It’s all of us who go up there. I hope and pray that we will enjoy it – forever.” The fans gave long applause. Carter, who played for the Raptors for seven years, was visibly moved.
From the Wizards to the Raptors
He began his 22-year career in Toronto in 1998. Carter was drafted by the Golden State Warriors, but was immediately traded to the Raptors. This paid off for the Canadiens as he was named rookie of the year in his debut season in 1998/99. In his 403 NBA games for the team, he averaged 23.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.
Carter, also known as “Air Canada”, played for a total of eight teams. Among other things, he played alongside Dirk Nowitzki for the Dallas Mavericks for three years from 2011 to 2014.
Heroic act at Nowitzki’s side
In the 2014 playoffs, he scored a legendary game winner in the last second in a duel with the San Antonio Spurs, which he celebrated at length with the German superstar. However, it was never enough for Carter to achieve his final coronation. Despite 22 seasons, he didn’t win a single championship.
Carter still set records: an eight-time All-Star, he is the only player whose career spanned four decades. His 1,541 games played rank third in NBA history, surpassed only by Robert Parish and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame just three weeks ago.
Dunks were his world
In 2000, Carter won the NBA All-Star Game’s Slam Dunk Contest and set new standards by outdoing Steve Francis, Ricky Davis, Larry Hughes, Jerry Stackhouse and Tracy McGrady. But Carter has more in common with the latter than their time together with the Raptors. Carter and McGrady played together and only learned late that they were cousins. “It was an incredible joy to have him as a teammate and at the same time find out we were related,” McGrady said of discovering their kinship and spending time together on the Raptors.
Carter also cemented his legendary status at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, where he won gold with the USA. One action was enough for him. Against the Frenchman Frédéric Weis, an impressive 2.18 meters tall, he managed one of the most spectacular dunks in history.
“Almost like ballet in the air”
His US teammate Kevin Garnett later revealed that the team had a bet going on. Whoever would dunk over Weis would get a million dollars from the team.
Paired with his dunks, his athleticism was considered another trademark. “Vince is a very artistic person,” his mother Michelle Carter-Scott said of her son in the Netflix documentary The Carter Effect. “And his art was his movements and the dunks. It was almost like ballet in the air.”
The next honor is coming
In 2004, Carter joined the Nets and marked a turning point for the team. He led the Nets to the playoffs with an average of 27.5 points per game and formed a strong duo with Jason Kidd. Although the Nets never reached the Finals, Carter’s arrival changed the organization forever.
The next honor awaits Carter there. On January 25th, the jersey will also be pulled under the roof of the hall.
