The only player of the NBA who witnessed and experienced its last four decades, Vince Carter, is now hanging his jersey as he calls it a career.
On his podcast, "Winging it with Vince Carter" the 43-year-old NBA veteran shared that he is officially done playing basketball in the professional scene. After signing a contract with Atlanta Hawks for the 2019 - 2020 NBA season, Carter shared that the one-year extension will be his final season. But the final season of his playing career was left hanging due to the current global health crisis faced by the world including the NBA which prompted them to suspend the season on March 11.
Despite the announcement of NBA about its plan to resume its regular season in late July at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Disney near Orlando which includes 22 teams, Carter's current team, the Hawks are not in the conversation due to their poor record in the regular season.
The NBA veteran also mentioned that if there was any disappointment that came to his final season, it was easier for him to set aside things and handle it that way because he knows that the current pandemic is bigger than his career, CNN reported.
He also shared that he was able to put the weird ending, the instant stoppage, to an ending aside for the larger picture.
In 1998, the Toronto Raptors selected Carter wherein he bagged the Rookie of the Year in just his first season. And after the crazy start of his whole NBA career, he was also selected as an All-Star wherein he participated eight times in the event.
Widely considered as one of the greatest dunkers of all-time because of his acrobatic dunks, the high-flying guard won the slam dunk contest in 2000. This is one of his greatest performances in dunk contest history and is considered as the inspiration in today's new flavor of dunks.
Within Carter's 22-season stay in the league, he played for playoff contender teams like New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and lastly the Atlanta Hawks where he signed the one-year extension.
NBA bids Vince Carter Farewell
In a report by the NBA, as the 'Half Man, Half Amazing' bids farewell to the league wishes from the NBA community overflowed.
Carter's teammate in Atlanta Trae Young thanks the veteran for everything that he has done for the team.
A former teammate of Carter in Toronto and now former NBA Chris Bosh shared that he will never forget the lessons that Carter taught him especially when he was just a young player who entered the league.
Dear @mrvincecarter15, Thank you for inspiring a nation to believe. Thank you for laying the foundation of basketball in Canada. Thank you for letting us fly with you. Thank you for a lifetime of memories. Love, Canada pic.twitter.com/vTkWLfss4M — Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) June 25, 2020
Thank You VC for everything !! ️ @mrvincecarter15 pic.twitter.com/2CSTbXY8Hq — Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) June 25, 2020
Bosh also added that Carter possesses one of the best talents in basketball and he feels he is lucky to witness it up close.
Jae Crowder became emotional on his Instagram account as he thanked Carter for taking the rookie Jae Crowder in his wings and helping him to become the player that he is today.
Despite the issues in the past, the official Instagram account of the Toronto Raptors thanked the "Half-man, Half-Amazing" for laying the foundation of basketball in Canada, inspiring the whole nation to believe, and letting the whole Canada fly with him.
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