Several years ago, Kevin Durant admitted that he wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors because of Vince Carter, lauding his energy, athleticism, and how he was able to turn a franchise around:
“Believe it or not, I wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors; that was my favorite team growing up,” Durant said on The Dan Patrick radio show.
“I was a big Vince Carter fan and I just liked their jerseys, to be honest. They were a new team when I was growing up, so I wanted to be a part of that. Just his enthusiasm he showed, just his athleticism, and how he brought Toronto from being one of the newer teams in the league to almost going to the Finals. He changed the culture there in Toronto,” he concluded.
That’s a lot of praise coming from one of the greatest scorers in the history of the game, especially considering Durant isn’t the one who often compliments his colleagues.
Needless to say, the recently-retired Vince Carter was humbled by Durant’s words, and said that he felt honored and that it was ‘unbelievable’ for him:
“It’s an honor. I’ve watched Kevin, going against him and everything. And just think back to his career… I heard whispers, I was like ‘okay, you know he’s a fan, oh I’m his favorite player, okay cool’. People say that. And then to actually hear from the horse’s mouth, it’s unbelievable. And getting the opportunity to play against him, watching him as a rookie and remember hearing how they said could he survive in the league because he wasn’t strong enough,” Carter told ESPN.
There’s no doubt that Carter was one of the most entertaining and charismatic players of his generation. He was a walking highlight reel and a great competitor, even if he was never able to win a ring. So yeah, we totally get you, KD.
