Even though Vince Carter played only a short time in Canada, his impact on Canadian basketball is still going strong. Those kids who watched him play in Toronto, who dreamed of wearing a jersey with a dinosaur on their chest, who maybe didn't realize yet that no matter how hard they practised at school or in the park would never dunk like Carter, are all grown up now.
Everybody that really plays basketball in this country knows who Vince Carter is. What he's done for the game is huge. With 2024 NBA MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and 2023 NBA champion Jamal Murray leading the way, Canada had 10 NBA players on its roster in the Olympics, the most of any country other than the U.S.
Carter spent the first six 1/2 of his NBA-record 22 seasons with the Raptors. He was the 1999 rookie of the year in his first season and an all-star and the slam dunk champion in his second, when Toronto made the playoffs for the first time. He also won a gold medal during the summer of 2000.
That effect is huge. The NBA was no sure thing to succeed in Canada, where hockey is king, when the Raptors began play in '95, and but Carter influenced a generation of players, transforming the basketball landscape.
Collection
[
|
...
]