Vince Carter's retirement is now official

[ozgod]

With Atlanta not invited to the resumption of the season, Vince Carter's career has come to an end after 20 years. One of the few (maybe the only?) players still playing this season who played against Michael Jordan (though it was the Washington Jordan at that point, not the Chicago Jordan). I remember when he entered the league right after Jordan retired after his 2nd 3 peat as one of the possible heir apparents to His Airness, along with Kobe Bryant. Amazing to still see him playing 20 years later, his role substantially changed but he had the humility to accept it and try to be a mentor to the younger guys, some of whom (like Trae) like weren't born, let alone in the league when he made his debut in 1998.

Well played Vince. All the best in retirement.

[bdm860]

That split in 2005 between Toronto and New Jersey.  Shows either how much Carter was dogging it in Toronto or the magic of playing with Jason Kidd (or both).

[petbrick]

I can't imagine anyone around at the time imagining that Half-Man Half-Amazing would be the only member of his draft class to play into his 40's. Cudos to Vince for a successful reinvention.

[Androslav]

Rarely did someone captured my attention as Carter did in my teens.
It was like "What is he going to do this game"?
He put Toronto on the map and was one of the rare players who had spectacular athleticism with good outside touch.

[jambr380]

By my count, he played 22 full seasons, not 20. No reason to rip the guy off 

TP for the thread, though. It seems like just yesterday the world was watching that dunk contest in amazement. And he was so much more than just dunking.

[Donoghus]

Think he was the last player remaining who was actually playing in the NBA when I was still in high school.

 

[slamtheking]

Think he was the last player remaining who was actually playing in the NBA when I was still in high school.

 

made me feel really old -- when I left high school, the C's still only had 14 titles   

[saltlover]

Played against Jordan and was teammates with Hakeem!

[johnnygreen]

The 2000 USA-Spain Gold medal game was on last night, and I was able to catch the fourth quarter. As I was watching the game and seeing Vince Carter, I started laughing as I realized he would play for another 20 years in the NBA. Much respect for Vince Carter, who from afar, seemed to be a total gentleman and did everything the right way. Oh, and BTW, he remains the greatest dunker in the games history. His combination of explosiveness and power were unmatched.

[bdm860]

Played against Jordan and was teammates with Hakeem!

Probably a very long list of father/son combos he played with/against too.

Looked it up, actually thought it would be longer.  Guess I thought there was more of an influx of players whose fathers played in the late 90's/early 00's.  Wonder how this compares to Parish, Willis, KG, Kobe, Dirk, Kareem, Kobe, etc. and if they could top this.

Del Curry/Steph and Seth Curry
Harvey Grant/Jerian and Jerami Grant
Glen Rice/Glen Rice Jr - played in the same game, but weren't on the court at the same time.
Gary Payton/Gary Payton II
Terry Davis/Ed Davis
Glenn Robinson/Glen Robinson III
Jaren Jackson/Jaren Jackson Jr
Tim Hardaway/Tim Hardaway Jr
Patrick Ewing/Patrick Ewing Jr - only19 total NBA minutes for Jr, but 1 of them was spent on the court the same time as Vince!
Rick Brunson/Jalen Brunson
Gary Trent/Gary Trent Jr
Arvydas Sabonis/Domantas Sabonis

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I respect Vince for changing his game as he got older and could no longer rely on sheer athleticism. And he sure was fun to watch when he had springs in his legs. Enjoy retirement, Vince—you earned it.

[KGs Knee]

Vince completely remade his reputation in his later years.  He probably would have gone down as just another talented but over-hyped underachiever had he not hung around so long and become a solid team player and mentor for the younger generation of players.