The Toronto Raptors just announced earlier today that they are set to retire Vince Carter’s No. 15 jersey. After the news received a mixed reaction from the fans, Carter spoke up in his own defense and addressed all those who felt that the Raptors made a mistake.
“I know there are people with mixed (feelings). That’s fine and that’s fair and that’s OK. But let’s enjoy the moment,” said Carter via Josh Lewenberg. “It’s all about timing, and the timing feels right. It happened organically. This is what I wanted more than anything. I had 6 crazy years here, period. For those that know me, they know my love for (Toronto). It’s just hard to articulate it and to get people to buy into that. But here we are. I immediately made it clear when the Hall of Fame came about that I was going in as a Raptor.”
It’s not Vince Carter’s game that is a problem for Raptors fans. When he was playing for the franchise, he was one of the best players in the world, an explosive athlete and a ruthless competitor. In 403 games for the franchise, he averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game on 44.6% shooting.
Vince developed a deep connection to the city and he loved his time there… until things went sideways. It all began in the 2004 NBA playoffs when Vince missed a buzzer-beater that would have saved them in the series. Instead, they got sent home early and Carter was blamed for attending his UNC graduation mere hours before tip-off.
After not making the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, Carter requested a trade from the Raptors and things turned downright ugly. In an effort to preserve his health, Vince looked for any reason to skip games and fans mocked him when he used injuries to excuse some of his absences.
When he finally was traded in December of that year, the relationship between Carter and the Raptors fanbase was damaged beyond repair. They blamed Carter for breaking the team apart and setting the franchise back into the gutter of the Eastern Conference. Upon his homecoming in April 2005, Vince was booed so aggressively by the fans that it’s still remembered today.
Despite playing for another 16 years after leaving the Raptors, Carter never returned to play for his former team and he never went back on good terms with the fans there. So when the franchise announced their plans to retire his jersey on November 2nd, many loyal, longtime Raptors fans spoke out against it.
To them, Vince is a traitor who turned his back on the Raptors right when things got tough. In their view, he’s someone who should be shunned by the community instead of praised by it.
But even now, amidst all the hate, Vince Carter understands the resentment. While Vince believes he handled things the right way, he knows that some fans will never see it the same way that he does. While he’s a hero to some, he’ll always be a villain to others and that’s the reality he’s come to accept.
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