Former Toronto Raptor Vince Carter announces his retirement from the NBA
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00:00It feels like Vince Carter's been around forever,
00:03but this was set to be his final season.
00:06It was halted, if not ended prematurely.
00:08For more, I'm joined by SI senior writer, Chris Mannix,
00:11who had a chance to catch up with Vince Carter.
00:13Chris, how does he reflect on this moment in time?
00:16Yeah, you might think that Vince Carter
00:18would be disappointed in seeing a 22 year NBA career end
00:22in a meaningless regular season game
00:24against the New York Knicks.
00:26But when I talked to Carter,
00:27he was surprisingly at peace
00:29with how his career ended.
00:30I mean, he maybe doesn't have the same type of career
00:33as a Kobe Bryant or a Dirk Nowitzki,
00:35two players that were celebrated in their final years.
00:39But this is a guy that played more seasons
00:41than anyone in NBA history.
00:43This was Air Canada, the former slam dunk champion
00:47and eight time All-Star.
00:48You would think that he would deserve more
00:50than to see his career end so quietly,
00:52but Vince, like he always is,
00:54seems very calm about it, very at ease about it.
00:57Says he enjoyed his experience in Atlanta,
00:59says he did things his way,
01:01and he's happy if this is how his career ends.
01:03You know, Chris, it's interesting
01:05because he adapted to being a role player so well.
01:08How do you think that impacts
01:10the way he's perceived overall,
01:12going from a star to such a high quality role player?
01:16Yeah, it's really interesting
01:17because you can count on one hand
01:19the number of superstars, former MVP candidates
01:24like Vince Carter, who have successfully transitioned
01:28into the role of role player.
01:29I mean, we can count countless examples
01:32of players that haven't been able to do it,
01:34from Allen Iverson to Carmelo Anthony.
01:36But Vince Carter, because he was able to humble himself
01:39at the midpoint of his career,
01:41was able to extend it by almost another decade.
01:44When I asked him about this,
01:46he said it wasn't anything specific.
01:47He just realized at a certain point
01:50he was no longer gonna be able to do the things physically
01:53that he was able to do, so he adapted.
01:55He studied tapes of players like Vinnie Johnson,
01:58the former Pistons sixth man.
02:00He watched in real time players like Manu Ginobili
02:03and Jason Terry, former starters
02:05who adapted to the sixth man role themselves.
02:07He really was able to accept his own limitations
02:11and that made him a successful role player.
02:14Yeah, it's amazing to see him fly above the rim
02:18and then adapt in his older age.
02:20Chris, appreciate your time as always.
02:22Yeah.