Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. was decided to end his 22-year NBA career on Thursday. He played for the North Carolina Tar Heels in college. The Golden State Warriors drafted him in the 1998 NBA Draft with the 5th Overall Pick. He was traded to the Raptors in exchange for the 4th overall pick Antwan Jamison. Antwan, at the time, was his college friend and teammate. Since there was an NBA Lockout in his first rookie year, he had to wait until 1999 to play. Carter averaged an impressive 18.3 points-per-game and won the Rookie Of The Year Award.
For the next five years, he went on average, 20+ points-per-game. In 2000 he won the Slam Dunk Contest and proved himself as one of the greatest dunkers to ever step foot in the game. His dunks went down in history as some of the best. Even til’ this day, those dunks are talked about. Here is a clip of some of his top dunk during the contest (via ESPN, Youtube):
In the same year, 2000, he was chosen to be on Team USA in the Olympics. He averaged 14.8 points-per-game that year. He yet again made the headlines with a legendary dunk on 7 foot, 2 inches tall Fredrick Weis in a game. This man is a living highlight reel, no offense to Dominque “The Human Highlight Film” Wilkins.
Vince Carter, over his 22-year career, played for a total of 8 teams. The Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and Atlanta Hawks. He was at his best with the Raptors and Nets. He will end his career with an average of 17.2 points-per-game, 4.4 rebounds-per-game, and 3.2 assists-per-game. He was an 8-time All-Star, ROTY, Slam Dunk Champion, one time All-NBA second team, one time All-NBA third team, and has his number retired by the North Carolina Tar Heels. Vinsanity is a legend, and he is a Future Hall Of Famer. Unfortunately, he is one of the greatest players to never win that NBA Championship. We all wish him the best in his post-NBA life. Farewell Vince Carter! You will be missed! This has been Jose Calderon III with FiveBoroughDispatch; have a great day, everybody!
TheDyspatch 