Vince Carter is worried.


Maybe he didn’t always act like that. Maybe he was young and didn’t realize it all those years ago when things ended the way they did with the Toronto Raptors. But these days the emotions are clear.


“I’ve always been taught and I’ve always believed that if you appreciate something and it means something, that’s how you respond,” Carter said Saturday night as he fought back tears ahead of his retirement at Scotiabank Arena. “So I’m going to respond like this. Every time. Believe it.”


Carter spoke for more than 30 minutes Saturday before his jersey was hoisted into the rafters of Scotiabank Arena. He was repeatedly moved to tears as he discussed the emotions of the moment and the legacy he has left on Toronto basketball.




It wasn’t supposed to go this way.


For a long time, any celebration of Carter’s time in Toronto seemed unthinkable. Even when the Raptors honored him for the first time since his infamous departure in 2014, the tribute video the organization aired was preceded and followed by a chorus of boos. To say Toronto despised Carter would be an understatement. He was one of the most vilified former players in Toronto sports history.


“I’ve been patient and I’ll continue to be patient because I understood a long time ago that if you appreciate something, love something like you, people don’t see it, be patient because it’s going to shine through,” Carter said .


The initial recognition in 2014 was a turning point for Carter, who was then a member of the Memphis Grizzlies. It was part of the reconciliation process and recognition that both Carter and the Raptors took some of the blame for the trade that sent him to New Jersey and how his final year in Toronto went.


“I just remember stepping forward and being in my bubble and just enjoying the moment because that was one of the first times,” Carter said. “So over the years leading up to it, you see highlights and videos, and I enjoyed those moments, but it’s about seeing those highlights in this building because that’s where it was made.”


The Canadians who have passed through Toronto lately have all been talking about Carter’s impact. He was the one who inspired RJ Barrett and Kelly Olynyk to take up the sport, and he helped too Jamal Murray fell in love with the game as a child and who was its mentor Tristan Thompson to realize his basketball dreams.


But for so long, Carter didn’t fully realize his impact.


“I had an idea, but today is not like it used to be,” he said. “I didn’t understand that, or didn’t know it until, of course, years later when you started hearing players, former campers, say that to you. It’s like, ‘wow, I was a 21-year-old who wanted to be the best version of myself.’ That’s it. I just wanted to play.


It was at that exact moment that Carter realized the impact he had on so many Raptors fans and why there are still so many people who are ambivalent about him. The intense appreciation they had for him changed when he left Toronto the way he did.


“I understand that may have been where the frustration came from,” he acknowledged. “Because the man we’re starting to like is now moving on. But I always said, especially close friends, that you can have your frustrations, but you need to understand the whole story before you put your anger into words, especially if you don’t really do.” know what was really going on.”


The past few months have been a whirlwind for Carter, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame early last month and will now have his jersey retired by not only the Raptors but also the Brooklyn Nets in January.


“I don’t experience this alone. I experience this with family, friends, strangers. I know it’s my day, but you’ve heard me say it a few times, and I’ll keep saying it. You’re going to hear it again tonight : This is our day,” Carter said as he wiped tears from his eyes. “It’s our day, no matter how you feel about this moment, what happened, or even about me. This is our day, and it’s about legacy.”




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