Vince Carter officially ends NBA career after 22 years

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

 

After 22 stellar years in the NBA, Vince “Vinsanity” Carter decided to hang up his jersey and is officially calling it a career.

Probably the best dunker of all time, Carter made his official announcement on the Winging It podcast where he said, “I’m officially finished playing basketball. I’m officially done playing basketball professionally.”

The fifth pick in the 1998 draft quickly turned heads after showing insane hops while catching high lobs and cracking the rim with finesse and creativity.

Carter gained popularity during his stint with the Toronto Raptors, earning multiple nicknames such as “Air Canada” and “Half Man, Half Amazing.”

Carter was able to lead the Raptors several eastern conference playoff appearances but fell short against Allen Iverson’s Sixers and Ray Allen’s Bucks.

The high-flying forward was then traded to the New Jersey Nets where he would form a formidable trio with Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin but failed to win a championship together.

After his Toronto and New Jersey stints, Carter then had short stop-overs in Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento, and Atlanta.

Carter will end his NBA career with eight All-Star appearances, two-time All-NBA selections, a 2000 Slam Dunk Champion and a 2000 Olympic Gold medalist.