On Thursday, it was announced that the Brooklyn Nets are going to retire the uniform of Hall of Famer Vince Carter.
The Brooklyn Nets will retire Vince Carter’s jersey in a ceremony on Saturday, January 25, 2025, at Barclays Center. This is the seventh jersey retirement in franchise history, joining Dražen Petrović, Jason Kidd, John Williamson, Bill Melchionni, Julius Erving, and Buck Williams pic.twitter.com/r4VL9C6QnF
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 19, 2024
Carter, famous for his aerial artistry, was so much more than just a dunker. He was a gifted three-level scorer, averaging over 20 PPG for a decade (spanning from 1999 to 2009). In total, Carter managed to accumulate eight All-Star selections and two All-NBA nominations.
Carter spent 4.5 seasons with the Nets (who were then known as the New Jersey Nets). He appeared in 374 games for them (369 starts), posting averages of 23.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.7 APG, and 1.2 SPG on 54.9% true shooting (the league average at the time was 53.8%).
The Nets won two playoff series with Carter – one in 2006 (against the Indiana Pacers) and one in 2007 (Toronto Raptors). However, they were never able to advance past the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Believe it or not, this is the first team to retire Carter's number 15. The Raptors (the team Carter played for the longest and had his most productive seasons with) have yet to honor Carter in this way.
Remember when Vince Carter played for the Sacramento Kings
After leaving the Nets at the end of the 2008-09 season, Carter became the ultimate journeyman. In his final eleven seasons, Carter played for six teams. And one of those teams was, of course, the Sacramento Kings.
Carter spent just one season in Sacramento (2017-18). This was his penultimate stop, right before his final stop with the Atlanta Hawks. In his lone season with the Kings, Carter appeared in 58 games (four starts), and he averaged 5.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.2 APG, and 0.7 SPG on 52.3% true shooting.
Will the Sacramento Kings ever retire Vince Carter's number?
Uh, probably not. As you probably noticed from hisstat line above, Carter didn't contribute too much to the box score when he was with the Kings. And he wasn't the emotional leader that he was with other teams like the Hawks and Dallas Mavericks (although he was still a valuable locker room presence).
So, unless the entire league decides to retire his uniform, that likely won't be happening.