The Toronto Raptors are set to officially retire Vince Carter’s No. 15 at a ceremony during the team’s Saturday night home game, making him the first player in the franchise’s history to receive the honour.
Carter was the team’s first superstar, electrifying fans with his high-flying, athletic play and leading the Raptors to their first winning seasons. In his six years with the Raptors, Carter’s prominence on what would become Canada’s only NBA team also helped increase basketball’s popularity across the country.
Speaking at a news conference before Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings at Scotiabank Arena, Carter fought back tears multiple times as he reflected on his time in Toronto.
“I don’t know what to expect,” Carter said of the planned halftime ceremony. “A celebration of the time spent [in Toronto] is what I’ve always wanted.”
A mended relationship
Carter acknowledged his relationship with the Raptors organization and its fans has had its ups and downs over the years, but said he felt things had healed in the two decades since he left the team.
Carter entered the NBA as a Toronto Raptor in 1998 and immediately became a fan favourite with his highlight reel dunking ability, winning the league’s rookie of the year award that season. In his sophomore year, Carter led the team to its first ever winning season and playoff appearance.
Former Raptors player Jerome Williams and announcer Chuck Swirsky discuss why Vince Carter was pivotal to the Raptors organization.
He would take the Raptors to the playoffs two more times, famously missing a shot at the buzzer in a 2001 elimination game that would have sent the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the following years, Carter’s relationship with the franchise and its fans soured, with critics accusing him of giving up on the team in 2004, shortly before he was traded to the New Jersey Nets.
For years afterward, Toronto fans would often boo Carter when he returned to play the Raptors.
But things began to change in 2014, when Carter, then playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, received a standing ovation from Raptors fans following a video tribute to him during a regular season game.
Still, some fans and media personalities remain bitter toward Carter, and the upcoming retirement of his number has been met with some backlash.
“I understand why people were sad,” Carter said of his departure from the team.
But Carter said he felt Saturday’s ceremony was putting a bow on his experience with the Raptors organization in the best way possible.
“V.C. sucks to congratulations. That’s all I want,” he said.
Asked about his impact on Canadian basketball, and the number of Canadian players entering the NBA in recent years, including current Raptors Kelly Olynyk and R.J. Barrett, Carter said his Canadian contemporaries were the ones who showed how far basketball players from this country could go
“Rick Fox, Steve Nash… they set the precedent of what can happen,” Carter said. “I was just a small piece of the puzzle”
Carter still holds the Raptors’ single-season scoring record with 27.6 points per game in 2000-01. He ranks fourth in franchise history in career scoring with 9,420 points.
An eight-time all-star and 22-year NBA veteran, Carter was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in October.
Carter said he chose the number 15 in high school after the number of his role model Julius Irving was already taken.
“I don’t remember what made me pick 15, but I’m glad I did,” he said. “Mom told me, hey, pick a number, make it famous.”