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Today one of my favorite players called it a day. Vince Carter is officially retired. Not only is it the end of his career but the end of the Dean Smith era of having a player in the NBA. Good luck Vince and thanks for all you did for the game. Outside of watching Dr J dunks, He was my second favorite dunker.
Ehh, I know he deserves all the fan fare he’s getting but as an adult I really on remember him as an awesome dunker who I never really saw on tv much actually playing in games...or in the playoffs.
Mixed feelings about him and his career.
Let's go back to 2000. He won the dunk contest in amazing fashion, then followed that up with what I personally consider the greatest in game dunk of all time at the Olympics (yep THAT dunk). He went toe to toe with AI in the Eastern Conference Finals. At that point in time, in a group of his peers and contemporaries such as Kobe, Paul Pierce, T Mac, and Dirk, he would have been at the top of the group in the year 2000, and it looked like we had finally found MJ's heir. Plus he made the NBA cool in hockey mad Canada
Yet fast forward to today and his career is clearly at the bottom of that same group. And it's really not something to debate. All of those other guys went past him in terms of career achievement. And his departure from Canada was pretty messy in the end.
Maybe the constant Jordan comparisons put too much pressure on him and he couldnt take it. It's telling that he has spent the last few years coming off the bench to play garbage minutes as a backup role player for losing teams. (Could you imagine Kobe doing that? at least even when his teams started losing heavily in the end, he was still a starter playing big minutes).
Maybe that was were Vince was always most comfortable, playing where the pressure and spotlight was low. Compare that to Ray Allen, another guy who played on several teams, yet was always going to teams that were title contenders and putting up buckets in the highest pressure situations (Finals for both Miami and Boston).
In the end though, he played 22 years in the NBA, and had some truly memorable moments. Probably not a hall of famer to me just one of the Very Good. But the basketball HOF is so weak (Antawn Jamison???) that he probably will get in.
He was my #1 favorite to watch too. It's a shame this Corona situation derailed a proper send-off. I loved the era I grew up in with AI, Kobe, Shaq, KG, Dirk, Rasheed Wallace, J Kidd, Ray Allen, etc.... but Vince was that dude who was must see. There isn't a player like him today with the lethal J, good handles, and skill at attacking the rim like him.
If I was going to be a debbie downer on Vinsanity, I recall he sat out a playoff game to get his college degree. They lost that game and series because of his high moral standards. Someone correct me because I am "working at home."
If I was going to be a debbie downer on Vinsanity, I recall he sat out a playoff game to get his college degree. They lost that game and series because of his high moral standards. Someone correct me because I am "working at home."
I ran across another article stating, "VC graduates but Sixers move on to the Eastern Conf. finals."
He did not sit out that game. When he decided to go pro, he signed a contract with his Mom stating that he would come back and get his degree. He attended the graduation (with his whole family there) in the morning and flew back that evening in time for the game. He scored 20 points, 9 assist and 7 rebounds. Yes, he did miss the winning shot, but he did put Toronto Raps on the map.
He did not sit out that game. When he decided to go pro, he signed a contract with his Mom stating that he would come back and get his degree. He attended the graduation (with his whole family there) in the morning and flew back that evening in time for the game. He scored 20 points, 9 assist and 7 rebounds. Yes, he did miss the winning shot, but he did put Toronto Raps on the map.
I stand corrected. My point being, was that college degree all that important? Fast forward. He's been in the league for over 20 years and I am sure he hasn't put that degree to use. He's been balling the whole time. He would have been well rested for that game and maybe, just maybe, could have influenced a different outcome. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. He made his choice.
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