While the Brooklyn Nets are retiring Vince Carter’s number 15 on Jan. 25, 2025, the Toronto Raptors announced on Monday that Vince Carter will have his number 15 retired by the organization that he started his career with.
Carter was the fifth overall selection in the 1998 NBA Draft, chosen one pick behind his University of North Carolina teammate Antawn Jamison. Jamison was taken by the Raptors and Carter by the Golden State Warriors, the two swapping hats on stage shortly thereafter.
Carter made an immediate impact in Toronto, garnering Rookie of the Year honors with averages of 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 45 percent shooting the lockout-shortened, 50-game season. The following season, he averaged 25.7 points per game, leading the franchise to its first ever playoff appearance.
2000-2001 was the high-water mark for Carter in a Raptor uniform, as he averaged 27.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 46 percent shooting. On April 26, 2001, the Raptors defeated the New York Knicks 94-74 for the first playoff win in franchise history. The Raptors lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinal to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games, Carter’s corner jump shot hitting back rim as time ran out in the deciding contest on the road. In Game 3, a 24-point Raptor win, Carter put up 50 points.
On Dec. 17, 2004, Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets for forwards Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, center Alonzo Mourning, and two first-round draft picks. Mourning chose not to report and went to Miami, while the Williams’ both were reserve role players for the team.
In seven seasons as a Raptor, Carter averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists on 45 percent shooting.
With an impact far beyond the box scores, Carter made basketball popular amongst a young group of aspiring players that we now see in the NBA, and his performance at the 2000 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest in Oakland is still the standard by which all individual dunk performances are measured. Without him, who knows what the fate of the franchise would have been. He was the blueprint for how to bring about credibility to a young organization.
Congratulations, Vince Carter.
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