Vince Carter has been in the league about as long as anyone. In fact, only one player in the NBA has been around as long as he has – Dallas Mavericks PF Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk and Vince are two of only five players to play 21 seasons in the NBA (Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett).
He started that long tenure as a Toronto Raptors, and stuck with them from 1998 to 2004 before departing to the New Jersey Nets.
Since then, his reception from the Raptors faithful has been a rollercoaster. VC15 was public enemy number one in Toronto for a while, and he would receive a plethora of boo-birds whenever he came back to the city. However, over time, the Raptors fans have warmed up to the NBA legend.
On Tuesday, Carter returned to Toronto in what could be his final game against his former team. The reception he got from the Toronto crowd was as warm as you could have expected.
It didn’t stop at the standing ovation, though. Shortly after checking in Carter nailed a three-pointer with the ease Raptors fans may remember from so long ago. Vince even got some cheers for that.
Vince Carter is probably the only player that can drain a three against the Raptors and have Raptors fans cheer about it. Saying that, it may not fly if Carter keeps the threes coming…
