The Toronto Raptors will retire Vince Carter’s No. 15 jersey on Nov. 2 when they host the Sacramento Kings, the team announced on Friday. Carter, who is being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next month, spent his first seven years in the NBA with the Raptors, after being selected fifth overall in the 1998 NBA Draft. This will be the first jersey retirement for the Raptors, and it comes at a fitting time as the team celebrates its 30th anniversary during the upcoming season.
After being approved as an expansion team in 1993, and playing their first season in 1995, the Raptors struggled through their first three seasons of existence, going 67-179 during that span. But the draft night trade that brought Carter — who was originally picked by the Warriors — over to Toronto ended up kickstarting several successful seasons for the franchise.
Carter started his career by earning Rookie of the Year honors, and by Year 2 he led Toronto to its first playoff appearance in franchise history. He became a first-time All Star that season, a trend that would maintain throughout his time with the Raptors, as he racked up a total of six All-Star appearances. Carter led the Raptors to the playoffs three times, advancing to the second round once.
Throughout Carter’s time in Toronto he quickly became a one of the most exciting young players of that era. His athleticism translated into jaw-dropping dunks that earned him the nickname “Air Canada,” for the electrifying and, at the time, never-before-seen dunks. His performance in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, which included a 360 between the legs dunk to cap off a win is still considered one of the best performances in dunk contest history.
Carter — who played until 2020 — is most associated with the Raptors (his seven seasons with the team were the most he spent with any franchise in his 22-season NBA career), but his time in Toronto did not end on a positive note. Toward the end of his tenure, Carter grew disgruntled with Toronto’s front office and he ultimately requested a trade, which landed him with the New Jersey Nets.
Carter wanting out was enough for Raptors fans to cast him as Public Enemy No. 1, but the return the team got for him, which included Alonzo Mourning (who refused to report to the team and was released), Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and two first-round draft picks took the disdain for the star even further. Every time Carter returned to Toronto to play for a different team he received a chorus of boos. It wasn’t until 2014, a decade after he was initially traded to the Nets, that Raptors fans turned a new leaf and welcomed Carter with cheers as the team celebrated its 20th anniversary.
Though the wound has healed between Carter and the city of Toronto, not everyone was in agreement for him being the first player to get his jersey retired by the franchise, per TSN. Several “high-ranking” members of Toronto’s organization felt that Kyle Lowry should be the first to have his jersey retired by the team as he led them to its first championship in 2019 in an era that the Raptors experienced their most success. But with Lowry still playing, and with Carter being inducted into the Hall of Fame, the timing made sense for Toronto to do it now.
Carter will actually have his jersey retired by two different franchises this season, as the Brooklyn Nets plan to hang his No. 15 jersey in the rafters on Jan. 25 following a game with the Miami Heat. Toronto purposely chose a November game in order to get ahead of the Nets, per TSN. Another date that was reportedly considered was Oct. 25 against the 76ers with Kyle Lowry in attendance.
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