Thank You, Vinsanity: Vince Carter Officially Announces His Retirement

Keeping it real here: it’s going to take a lot of time getting used to googling Vince Carter’s name and seeing “former American professional Basketball player in his bio.

And yes, it was expected considering that he announced that the 2019-20 season would be his farewell tour, but it is still going to be hard to see one of the more impactful superstars of the past two decades hang up the sneakers.

In what will go down as one of the many special moments stolen by the worldwide Coronavirus shutdown of sports this season, we’ll never get to formally see Vince Carter offer his goodbyes to the thousand of patrons inside Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena or in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center as an ode of respect to the fans of the Raptors and Nets, two of the franchises integral in carving out the legacy and storied career of the one we call “Half-Man, Half-Amazing”.

Instead, all fans and supporters of VC will get is a digital announcement, as the presumptive first-ballot HOFer took to Twitter Thursday morning to express his desire to step away from professional basketball, thus ending a 22-year career for the eight-time All-Star who played in eight jerseys in that span. Carter was on his “Winging it” Podcast on The Ringer when he declared his official retirement.

And deservedly so, he deserved a proper send-off – perhaps a cumulative career highlight montage, one final crowd address, a prolonged standing ovation – rather than the abrupt and sudden ending to his professional tenure on the eve of March 11, ubiquitously known as the date the season was suspended.

Looking back, he would’ve been a little more earnest of a more gratifying career conclusion; Though needing gratuitous persuasion from the onlookers within the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena, Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce looked his way and placed him with the third-team in the game’s remaining 19.5 seconds, ultimately leading up to a dribble handoff and top-of-the-key three-ball to score his 25,728th point, 2,290th and final three-pointer.

The lasting impact of Vinsanity won’t soon be forgotten if that nugget of information ever needed an appropriate mention. He had never had the luxury of reaching the pantheon of championship gold once in his time in the league but had done oh so much in the span of 22 long years.

When we think VC, obvious pictures roll into our heads: the gravity-disrespecting throw-downs both in-game and in that memorable 2000 Dunk Contest he did as a pioneer of modern dunking. The All-NBA teams he qualified for. His highlight-filled collegiate career. His many appearances in USA Red, White, and Blue as a member of the national team during his winning of both the Gold in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2003 Gold medal in the FIBA Americas Championship.

Oh, and the fact that he single-handedly made the sport of basketball cool in the entire country of Canada during his time as a Raptor.

Or, the multitudinous teammates he’s had throughout his 22 years in the business, including the youngsters he’s dropped knowledge for who weren’t even born when he was having his most-prominent years in the league.

A career that has seen its understandable decline in athleticism, Carter was never the type to lament about his diminishing role on the five teams he was shipped to in his waning seasons. And as quick as the physical transition from an All-NBA caliber high-flyer to a throw-in piece as part of trade negotiations, his humility, maturity, and understanding of playing the role of confidant and teacher developed just as expeditiously.

He could’ve bowed out gracefully and on the top back in 2012-2013 when he wasn’t exactly himself. But as his body slowly started to deteriorate, his mind found resolution and optimism. His unpredictable durability became a beacon of hope for players not quite comfortable with transitioning into lesser roles. During his second year with the Mavericks, who after signing Carter were still championship contenders even without him, still profited greatly from his contributions. He still averaged double-digits, completing his transformation to full-time reserve.

Carted did an interview with Sports Illustrated back in May of this year, and as Carter detailed his desire to retire last year, he said that he “had doubts”. And as fate would have it, he spotted a relaxed Kobe Bryant in the front row of the Nets home floor in the Barclays Center back in December. Two former rivals turned buddies embraced while Bryant’s daughter Gianna admired from afar and watched her dad and his former colleague conversate.

That conversation probably included old memories about their battles the two had in their careers, but moreover involved life after the game is over. Bryant confessed, in Carter’s words, that it was the happiest he had ever been. And then a month later, Vince Carter passed Dirk Nowitzki in scoring to earn spot No. 19 on the all-time scoring list, and the Flying Dutchman himself offered the same sentiment about retirement in a text, saying he was going to love it.

So, while it may be as anticlimatic of a conclusion to 22 seasons, in Carter’s eye, he may have already gotten his riding-off-into-the-sun moment: alongside the Knicks’ rookie guard R.J. Barrett at a free-throw hash, he logged his final minutes, played his final, 1,541st game, and drilled his final shot attempt for a total of five points in a win against the Knicks on a bizarre night that the entire NBA was forced into hiatus after players and fans in the stadium caught wind of the cancellation of that Jazz-Thunder game that caught the attention of national headlines.

When those same fans started chanting “We Want Vince”, imploring coach Pierce to put in the living legend that’s literally played in at least one game in four different decades, Carter said that it really started hitting him that it could all really be over. The legend may not have known at the moment that his goodbye was to be permanent this time, but as he’d say, “I ended on a pretty good note.”

And that he did. Thanks for everything, Vince.