Vince Carter
Vincent Lamar Carter (born
January 26,
1977) is an
American All-Star basketball player in the
NBA. He currently plays for and is the Co-captain of the
New Jersey Nets. Combining his incredible athleticism with remarkable originality, Carter has captured the hearts of millions of basketball fans around the world with breath taking dunks considered amongst the greatest in history.
Vince Carter, born in
Daytona Beach, Florida, was a
McDonald's All-American Player in 1995 out of Mainland High School in Daytona Beach [
1]. Carter enjoyed tremendous popularity during his initial years in the NBA, especially after showcasing his incredible athletic abilities in the 2000 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, which he competed alongside teammate and cousin
Tracy McGrady (by marriage). Until 2006 Carter had perenially topped All-Star team voting. Following his split with the Toronto Raptors this changed. In the 2006 All Star Games held in Houston Vince Carter did not get enough votes to qualify as a starter, though due to an injury to Jermaine O'Neal, of the Indiana Pacers, NBA Commissioner David Stern was able to select Carter as a starter for the 2006 NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team.
He played college basketball at the
University of North Carolina. He was then picked fifth overall in the
1998 NBA draft by the
Golden State Warriors and immediately traded to the
Toronto Raptors for the rights to college teammate
Antawn Jamison. He won the
NBA Rookie of the Year Award for the
1998-99 season. The next year, Carter was selected to an All-Star Team for the first time, and showcased his athleticism and amazing dunking abilities in the
NBA Slam dunk contest. He did a 360º windmill, went through the legs, and was the first to stick his arm in the rim up to his elbow. The NBA 2000 Slam Dunk Contest is regarded by many as one of the best of all time. Though he has not competed in a slam dunk contest since, Carter has been an All-Star several times since then, and has been voted into the Eastern Conference NBA All-Star Team starting lineup several times through fan balloting.
Carter is one of the lead advertisers of
Nike Basketball, along with
Kobe Bryant and
LeBron James, cashing in on a 6 year, $60,000,000 U.S. deal signed in 2000. Since then, branded as a signature athlete, Nike has released performance
basketball footwear the
Nike Shox VC (and a low version), the Nike Shox VC II, the Nike Shox VC III, Nike Shox VC IV, and the Nike Shox VC V. Nike has placed Carter as the face for its Shox technology and the ambassador for the recently resurrected Flight Line of Nike basketball footwear.
During the
2000 Summer Olympics in
Sydney, Australia, Carter performed one of the most memorable dunks in history when he flew over 7-foot-2 (2.18 m)
French center
Frédéric Weis. Carter took off from just inside the foul line, spread his legs in midair, and slightly scraped Weis's head before slamming the ball home. The French media dubbed it
"le dunk de la mort"â€"the dunk of death.
On the morning of the day of Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference playoffs (Raptors vs
Philadelphia 76ers), Sunday,
May 20, he attended his UNC graduation, in which
Stuart Scott gave a
graduation speech. In that game, Carter missed a game-winning shot with 2.0 seconds remaining [
2]. In the summer of 2001 Vince signed a $94 Million, 6 year extension with the Toronto Raptors.
During the
2003 All-Star Game, despite the fact that he was voted as a starter, Carter gave up his spot to the
Washington Wizards'
Michael Jordan to allow Jordan to make his final All-Star appearance.
Carter's mother, often a spokesperson for her son, made it clear in the 2004 offseason that he wanted to be traded from the Raptors. Carter was traded to the
New Jersey Nets on
December 17,
2004 by the Raptors for
Alonzo Mourning,
Eric Williams,
Aaron Williams and two future first-round draft picks. In early January 2005, following allegations, Carter admitted that he had tipped off the opposing Seattle SuperSonics (the Raptors' opponents on
November 19,
2004) of an upcoming Raptors play by yelling "It's a flare! It's a flare!" to sabotage his own team.[
3] Vince "came back home" as a member of the Nets on
April 15,
2005, noting to the press that it was "good to be home again". Vince scored 39 points in front of what many considered the most hostile home crowd in Toronto Raptors history. The sellout crowd booed Carter mercilessly, chanted his name from the pre-game shootaround to the final buzzer, and many fans brought derogatory signs to express their frustration at Carter's apparent lack of effort in his final days as a Raptor. Carter was able to ignore the heckling of bitter Raptor fans and the Nets would ultimately prevail 101-90. Upon the conclusion of the match, Carter was seen clutching the game ball near the Nets' team bench while emphatically stating, "This is still my house!".
The resurrected Vince Carter would eventually guide the Nets to an eighth-place seed in the 2005 NBA Playoffs. While New Jersey would eventually be swept by the
Shaquille O'Neal-led
Miami Heat. Carter finished with averages of 26.8 points per game, 8.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists, highlighted by a buzzer-beating two point fadeaway shot in the 1st OT of Game Three that would force a second and deciding overtime.
Carter returned to Toronto on
January 8,
2006 for the 2nd time since his trade to the
New Jersey Nets, and was given the same treatment by the fans the last time he played in the
Air Canada Centre. With the Nets trailing 102-104, Carter hit the winning 3-point shot with 0.1 seconds left on the game clock and finished with 42 points and 10 rebounds against his former team. Carter considers this winning shot as his greatest ever, considering the atmosphere, the emotion and the hostily in the arena.
On
February 9, 2006, Carter was selected to play in the
2006 NBA All-Star Game in
Houston, Texas as a reserve guard for the
Eastern Conference. Carter started in place of forward/center
Jermaine O'Neal, who was selected as starter but couldn't play due to injury.
The
2005-06 NBA season was another success for Vince Carter, as he co-led the Nets to 49 wins, an Atlantic Division title, and a number 3 seeded playoff position, while averaging 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. He led the Nets to the 2nd round of the playoffs, then losing to the eventual
NBA champion
Miami Heat in 5 games. Vince averaged 29.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 11 playoff games.
Vince has announced on his site that as of early February 2006, he no longer owns any private property in Toronto. However he remains the co-owner of Club Inside and recently opened the Kai Lounge - named after his daughter.
Vince Carter has a player option in his contract that, if he does not exercise, will make him a free agent next summer. Meanwhile, the Magic will be an estimated $12 million under the cap next summer. On top of that, the paper says Vince has apparently told people he'd like to finish his career in his native Florida.
Carter is currently married to Dr. Ellen Rucker-Carter and has one daughter - Kai Michelle Carter, named after his mother Michelle Carter-Robinson. Carter has one brother and a half-sister. He is no longer on speaking terms with members of his paternal family.
*Vince appeared on a T-Mobile commercial, talking to his family on a cell phone to demonstrate the extra minutes.
*Carter's penthouse is a stage in the video game
NBA Ballers.
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Click to download Vinsanity.gif (size: 1101 KB)
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Click to download Vinsanity2.gif (size: 1897 KB)
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Click to download Vinsanity3.gif (size: 282 KB)
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7-time NBA All-Star selection: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006; was voted in in 2002 but missed the game due to injury
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2-time All-NBA::*
Second Team: 2001:*
Third Team: 2000
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NBA Slam Dunk Champion 2000
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NBA All-Rookie First Team: 1999
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NBA Rookie of the Year Award: 1999
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The Sporting News NBA Rookie of the Year: 1999
NBA playoff records
* Co-holds NBA playoff record for
most three-point field goals made in one game with
9 (May 11, 2001 vs.
Philadelphia 76ers, Eastern Conference Finals).
* Holds NBA playoff record for
most three-point field goals made in one half with
8 (same game as above).
* Holds NBA playoff record for
most consecutive three-point field goals made in one game with
8 (same game as above).
* Holds NBA playoff record for
most consecutive three-point field goals made in one half with
8 (same game as above).
New Jersey Nets franchise records
* Co-holds for
most three-point field goals made in one game with
7 (April 9, 2005 vs.
Boston Celtics)
* Holds for
most points scored in one season with
1,911 (
2005-06)
* Holds for
most consecutive 20 or more point games with
23 (2005-06).
Toronto Raptors franchise records and milestones
* Holds for
most career points scored with
9,420* Holds for
most career three-point field goals made with
554* Holds for
most points scored in one game with
51 (February 27, 2000 vs.
Phoenix Suns)
* Co-holds for
most points scored in one quarter with
20 (November 7, 2001 vs.
Golden State Warriors)
* Co-holds for
most field goals made in one game with
20 (January 14, 2000 vs.
Milwaukee Bucks)
* Holds for
most points scored in a playoff game with
50 (May 11, 2001 vs.
Philadelphia 76ers, Eastern Conference Semi Finals)
* Ranks 3rd for
games played with
403* Ranks 1st for
games started with
401* Ranks 1st for
total points with
9,420* Ranks 1st for
total minutes with
15,154* Ranks 2nd for
three-pointers made with
554* Ranks 2nd for
three-pointers attempted with
1,445*He is referred to by the nicknames Vinsanity, Half-Man Half-Amazing and his own initials VC. In his Toronto days, he was also referred to as Air Canada Carter.
*The sergeant in the TV show
Gomer Pyle was also named Vince Carter.
*Member of
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.
*Mentioned prominently in the chorus of the track 'Slam Harder' by rap group
Onyx.
*Was given a shout out by rapper
Foxy Brown on her "Broken Silence" CD, "I'm going to Vince Carter this."
*A philanthropist, he has donated large amounts of money to his former high school, Mainland High School as well as to his foundation, The Embassy of Hope.
*Played baritone and saxophone in his high school marching and jazz bands, respectively, at Mainland and was voted head drum major for his senior year.
*
Vince Carter at
NBA.com
*
Vince Carter - vid highlights
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Official Website*
VCO Fan site
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Vince Carter's U.S. Olympic Team bio
