As Michael Jordan’s time in the NBA was coming to an end in the late 90s, the league was desperate to find a successor for arguably the biggest superstar sports has ever seen. MJ was a massive international icon and replacing him was always going to be a tough job. A young man by the name of Kobe Bryant was coming up then and would go on to become the closest thing to MJ, but there was another NBA legend that first looked like he would fill in Jordan’s massive shoes.
Vince Carter is arguably the most exciting player to have played the game. Vinsanity had firmly gripped Toronto during Carter’s early years in the league and his explosive dunks could fill endless highlight reels. And one thing that a lot of people seemed to notice was that Carter had several plays that made him look exactly like a certain GOAT that was playing for the Chicago Bulls.
It’s not just something fans of the game attribute to Vince, players like Jalen Rose and Gilbert Arenas have spoken about the fact that Carter was expected to have a much more impressive career than he ended up having. Vince still went down in NBA history as a legend and a baller, but his legacy doesn’t even come close to the man he was initially expected to be like.
There’s something to be said about expectations being placed on young stars that can prove to be a bit much for them to live up to, but as the videos prove, it seemed like Carter was almost channeling MJ in his game at the time. It also proves how tough it is to combine results with talent as well as Jordan did, and that’s pretty much exactly what makes him the GOAT.
