Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
TORONTO – NBA Hall of Famer Vince Carter has a complicated history with the Toronto Raptors, starting as the star who put the team on the map before becoming public enemy No. 1 and then mending fences with the team after retirement .
Here’s a timeline look at Carter’s key moments, with and against the Raptors, as he became the first player in franchise history to have his jersey sent to the rafters.
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June 24, 1998 – Carter is selected fifth overall out of North Carolina by the Golden State Warriors in the NBA draft in Vancouver. Shortly after, he is traded to Toronto for fourth overall pick Antawn Jamison.
February 5, 1999 – Carter makes his NBA regular season debut as the league returns from the lockout. He scores 16 points to go with three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in a 103-92 road win over the Boston Celtics.
March 25, 1999 – Carter scores a season-high 32 points in a 113-104 loss at Houston.
May 26, 1999 – Carter is named NBA rookie of the year after averaging 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, three assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks over 50 games.
February 12, 2000 – Carter wins the NBA slam dunk contest in Oakland, Calif. He won the title with a 360-degree windmill jam, famously singing “it’s over” to the camera after completing the dunk. The next day he makes his all-star debut in the game after receiving 1,911,973 league votes in a fan vote.
February 27, 2000 – Carter scores a career-high 51 points in a 103-102 win over visiting Phoenix.
April 23, 2000 – Carter makes his playoff debut as the Raptors advance to the postseason for the first time in franchise history. He is held to 16 points as the Raptors fall 92-88 to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. New York would go on to sweep the best-of-five series, with Carter scoring 27 points in Game 2 but struggling with 15 in the clinch in Toronto.
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May 4, 2001 – The Raptors win their first ever playoff series, beating the New York Knicks 93-89 in a decisive Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. Carter had a team-high 27 points in the win.
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May 11, 2001 – Carter scores 50 points as the Raptors beat the Philadelphia 76ers 102-78 to take a 2-1 lead in their second-round series.
May 20, 2001 – Philadelphia wins the series by edging Toronto in the decisive seventh game. Carter, who had 20 points and nine assists in the game, missed a 19-foot jump shot at the buzzer. He faces criticism for attending his graduation in North Carolina on the morning of the pivotal game in Philadelphia.
August 1, 2001 — Carter signs a six-year extension and the Raptors are said to be worth as much as US$94 million. Mel Lastman, the mayor of Toronto at the time, declared the day “Vince Carter Day.” The move was seen as the crown jewel of a major offseason for general manager Glen Grunwald, who re-signed key players Alvin Williams, Antonio Davis and Jerome Williams and added senior star center Hakeem Olajuwon.
March 19, 2002 – Carter is held to 10 points in his final game of the season as the Raptors are beaten 112-80 by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Carter, who had been battling a left knee injury all season, is undergoing season-ending surgery eight days later. The Raptors fall to 30-38, below the playoff mark in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, with the loss to the Timberwolves. But the team is fighting back without Carter, winning 12 of its last 14 games to reach the playoffs before pushing the heavily favored Detroit Pistons to a decisive fifth game in the opening round of the playoffs.
December 17, 2004 – After two seasons of missing the playoffs and amid significant organizational changes, the Raptors trade a disgruntled Carter to the New Jersey Nets 20 games into the 2004-05 campaign. Hurt feelings in Toronto that Carter “gave up” on the team before being traded – he was averaging a pedestrian 15.9 points per game before the deal – are compounded by his lackluster return. r general manager Rob Babcock gets it from the nets. Toronto receives aging center Alonzo Mourning, journeymen Aaron Williams and Eric Williams and two first-round draft picks. Mourning, the biggest name coming back to Toronto, does not report to the Raptors and is bought out. He later joins Miami for the league minimum salary and helps the Heat win a title the following season.
April 15, 2005 – Carter returns to Toronto for the first time since the trade. The crowd at the Air Canada Center boos him mercilessly, with some fans holding signs mocking his injuries. One even comes with crutches. Carter gets the last laugh, scoring 39 points in a 101-90 win for the Nets.
January 8, 2006 – Carter silences the ACC crowd again by scoring 42 points, including a fadeaway three-pointer at the buzzer, as the Nets stun the Raptors 105-104.
April 21, 2007 – The Raptors return to the playoffs for the first time since the Carter era, only to run into Carter and the Nets in the first round. The Nets upset the Raptors 96-91 in the first game of the series, adding insult to injury by alternating their red uniforms to match the red T-shirts given to Toronto fans before the game . Carter goes on to average 25 points in the series as the sixth-seeded Nets bounced the third-seeded Raptors in six games.
November 19, 2014 – Carter returns to Toronto as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. As part of the Raptors’ 20th anniversary celebration, a video montage of Carter’s highlights with the team is played during the game. The WRA supporters give Carter a standing ovation, and, with tears in his eyes, he acknowledges the crowd.
March 11, 2020 – Carter scores five points, including a late three-pointer, as his Atlanta Hawks lose 136-131 to the New York Knicks. This was the last NBA game he ever played in, as the season was suspended after the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Carter ends his career at the age of 43 as the only NBA player to compete in four different decades.
April 6, 2024 – Carter is named as one of 13 inductees who are part of the 2024 Basketball Hall of Fame class.
September 27, 2024 – The Raptors announce they will retire Carter’s No. 15, making him the first player in franchise history to receive the honor.
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 27, 2024.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10779305/a-timeline-of-carters-history-with-raptors/
