Report: Vince Carter retires after 22 seasons in the NBA

Vince Carter has just retired from the NBA. He finished his career on the Atlanta Hawks, and will most likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

He played with eight teams, those being the Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and the Atlanta Hawks. He played with the Raptors for seven seasons, the Nets for five, the Mavericks and Grizzlies for three, the Hawks and Magic for two, and the Suns and Kings for one.

He was an 8-time All Star, 2-time member of the All-NBA, and made the 1998-1999 All-Rookie team. He also won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest.

He was drafted by the Golden State Warriors with the 5th pick from UNC, but was then traded to Toronto, where he eventually teamed up with his cousin Tracy McGrady. He played 22 seasons in the league, the most ever by a player. He retired as a 43 year old.

Vince Carter was best known for his dunking ability, and his 43-inch vertical leap. Now there are too many insane dunks that he did, but in honor of his career, we’re looking at the top 5 dunks of Vince Carter’s career. For each dunk, I’ll give its ranking, a link to a video of it, and justify its ranking.

#5: Fake Injury Dunk

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b3dP0IDWlZc

Justification: As you can see in this dunk, while it is not the most impressive, the way that he faked the whole Warriors team out and then dunked on them to end the half is hilarious and shows off Vince’s incredible basketball IQ. It also shows how he will do anything to dunk, even pretend to be injured.

#4: Dunk on Dikembe Mutombo

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RmPduhZOLBU

Justification: I rank this dunk where it is for the simple reason that the dunk itself is not the craziest, but the fact that it was done on one of the best shot blockers to ever play in the NBA. That propels it to this rank, and Mutombo got totally posterized. Fun fact, did you know Dikembe Mutombo originally did not want to play in the NBA, but was studying to be a doctor?

#3: Elbow in the Rim

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H8BSSCnSYds

Justification: This dunk practically clinched the 2000 dunk contest for Vince Carter, and left everyone watching shocked. It was truly incredible. Not only that, but Roddy Rich also sang about it in his song, “The Box.” The athleticism for this dunk is truly incredible.

#2: 360 Windmill

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ns2oqQCkZE4

Justification: This dunk is crazy. It got a 50 from the judges at the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, and is one of the most iconic dunks done in a dunk contest. This doesn’t seem to hard at first to do on a mini hoop or 6-foot rim, but then you actually try it, and it’s near impossible. Especially the way he brought the ball above the rim before slamming it. There’s a reason it’s only been replicated a few times since. Vince has a perfect combination of speed, agility, finesse, and power.

#1: The Olympic Dunk

Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k_uZeCymShQ

Justification: Forget the best Vince Carter Dunk, I’d say this is one of the best dunks in basketball history! In the Olympics no less, Vince Carter takes the ball on a steal after the other team stole the ball, runs down the court, and jumps over a grown man to dunk! This is truly insane, and it is considered the best dunk in US Olympics History.

Let me know in the comments below if you think any dunks got snubbed, and as always, have an awesome day!