NBA legend Vince Carter officially retires after record 22 NBA seasons

NBA legend Vince Carter has announced his retirement after playing for a record-breaking 22 years in the league. Throughout the season, Carter received standing ovations from fans throughout the country, bidding farewell to the 43-year-old guard. As Carter was playing for the Atlanta Hawks, his last NBA season came to an abrupt end after the league announced their NBA restart plan where only the top 22 teams would travel to Orlando to compete for the title. 

Also read | Vince Carter receives standing ovation from Orlando faithful as his mother watches on: Vince Carter 4 decades, Vince Carter retires

Vince Carter retires: Carter officially ends his 22-year NBA career

Also read | Carter could've played final shot of career after NBA suspension: Vince Carter retires? Vince Carter 4 decades, Vince Carter NBA career

Carter recently appeared on The Ringer's Winging It podcast, where he announced that he was 'officially done playing basketball professionally'. The guard played his final season with the Hawks, who finished their 2019-20 season with a 20-47 win-loss record. Carter's last shot was a three-pointer during the Hawks 136-131 overtime loss to the New York Knicks on March 11, the same day NBA suspended play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the final year of his career, Carter averaged a career-low 5 points per game, while being a mentor to the young players on the team. After the league announced their plan for the NBA restart, fans had taken to Twitter to complain about how Carter's career ended and wanted to give him a proper farewell. 

Vince Carter's final NBA game

How did Vince Carter's NBA career start?

Though he was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in 1998 as the fifth overall round one pick, he was traded to Toronto Raptors, where he played for six years before moving on the New Jersey Nets. Carter won the NBA Rookie of the Year award, was an NBA All-Star for six seasons while with the Raptors, where he averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. While with the Nets, Carter averaged 23.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. While Carter never won an NBA championship, he helped the Raptors and Nets reach the playoffs three times. After his time with the Nets, Carter played for the Orlando Magic. After that, Carter played with the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings before signing with the Hawks in 2018. 

Also read | Vince Carter's 22-year-long NBA career comes to an abrupt end: Vince Carter retires, Vince Carter 4 decades, Vince Carter NBA career, Vince Carter retirement

NBA world reacts to Vince Carter's retirement

Vince Carter's achievements over the years

Carter is ranked 19th on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 25,728 points, and third on the all-time list with 1541 regular-season games played. He is the only player in the NBA to have played for 22 season, which spanned over the period of four decades. One of Carter's iconic career moments was his victory during the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, where he dunked over Frederic Weis during the 2000 Supper Olympics in Sydney. While Carter has no NBA title to his name, he was a part of Team USA's 2000 gold-medal squad. His gameplay resulted in the term 'Vinsanity' being invented, which describes his style of play and his highlight-reel dunks. Carter averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game during his career. 

Also read | Vince Carter receives a standing ovation at MSG: Vince Carter retires, Vince Carter retirement, Vince Carter NBA career and Vince Carter 4 decades

(Image source: @atlhawks official Instagram)