The Raptors Are Finally Retiring Vince Carter’s No.15
Here’s a story of how I became a Vince Carter fan.
“Did you guys catch Vince Carter’s dunk on the weekend?” my friend asked us as we waited outside our first class.
In my mind, I had no idea what he was talking about. I didn’t watch the NBA All-Star Game that weekend nor did I watch the Dunk Contest.
But a handful of my other friends were talking about it so instead of being a dork, I nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, it was so cool!” I said, not knowing what I was talking about.
The bell rang and we went to our first period.
The entire time my science teacher talked about evolution, all I was thinking of was who this Vince Carter character was and what amazing dunk he did on the weekend.
Now, if I were a Gen Z or Gen A kid, I could’ve just gotten onto my phone or tablet and searched for clips of the dunk.
But I’m not. I’m a millennial and an older one at that.
So, all I could do in the year 2000 was turn on the sports channel on my television and hope there was a rerun of All-Star Weekend or that the event was highlighted on SportsCentre or another sports news program.
Luckily for me, Vince Carter’s performance was so amazing that they talked about it again a few days later.
”Damn! How did he jump that high?” I thought to myself. “Is he a better dunker than Jordan? Is he the next Jordan?”
I became a fan of Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors right then and there, and have been ever since.
I tell this story for two reasons:
Vince Carter had a huge impact on basketball in Canada.
The Toronto Raptors are finally retiring his No. 15 jersey.
The Raptors plan on lifting his jersey into the rafters on Nov. 2 when they host the Sacramento Kings.
This will be the franchise’s first time retiring a number and I think Carter deserves it because he was the one to get the Raptors the attention they needed to thrive.
He was the one to build the original fanbase.
Carter began his career in Toronto and played there for 6 and a half seasons.
In that time, he was the Rookie of the Year, a dunk champion, and a multi-time All-Star and All-NBA player.
He also led the young franchise to 2 playoff appearances.
Carter averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1 block with the Raptors.
Without him, the Raptors’ fate might have been the same as the Vancouver Grizzlies.
What was your fondest memory of “Half-Man/Half-Amazing” as a Raptor?
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