Vince Carter is one of the most iconic players in NBA history. While he wasn’t successful on the championship front in the league, he had one of the longest careers ever. After entering the league in 1998, Carter played for 22 years, before retiring at the end of last season. Carter’s most iconic trait was his ability to dunk the ball, as was seen in the legendary 2000 NBA Slam-Dunk contest. But who was the better dunker between himself and ‘His Airness’ Michael Jordan?
Well, according to Vince Carter, it was him. Speaking on the Dan Patrick show, Carter was asked who is the better dunker from North Carolina between himself and MJ. And he said that he would gladly give that title to himself over Jordan. His reasoning was that, despite Jordan’s greatness during his playing time, he can’t just lay claim to all the great titles in the NBA.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k7vttQDAXY
“I’ll take that. You can’t give MJ everything. He’s got everything else. He’s right there.”
Carter then also explained how he used his ability to dunk the ball to further his legacy in the game. While Carter knows he won’t be the greatest player of all-time like Jordan, the memory of his 2000 NBA Dunk Contest is what puts him up there as one of the biggest fan-favorites in NBA history.
“Like I said, just walking into that gym, that’s one thing every Carolina player will say this. Walking into the gym, the first person every person looks for is MJ. We know what he did in college, and of course in the NBA, and his ability to dunk. I might not end up being the greatest player or as good as him, but that something that I can kinda have people thinking. Hey maybe. So that dunk contest is one of the things I made my mark…The dunk contest was kind of like my moment in time where I said I’m gonna shock the world and wild up the crowd for years to come. I just didn’t know it’ll have its effect like it’s had, and I’m thankful for it.”
Carter’s comments come as little surprise. Throughout his career, Carter made his legacy around his dunking. While Jordan was just the all-around superstar in the league, who excelled at everything. Furthermore, MJ is remembered for exactly that, rather than his dunking. While both players have won the dunk contest, it is Carter’s performance that stands the test of time better than Michael Jordan’s. In fact, one can even argue that Carter’s dunk contest is what has helped the concept become one of the major highlights of the NBA All-Star weekend.
Despite this, Michael Jordan will be remembered as one of the elite dunkers of his time. His performance in the air is so iconic that it is intertwined with popular culture. His sneaker line, Air Jordan, uses a silhouette of Jordan dunking the ball as its logo. That image is one of the most well-remembered in basketball history and is the first that comes to many fans’ minds when they think of a classic dunk.
