The highs and lows of Carter's memorable seven years with the Raptors

Vince Carter will make history on Nov. 2 when he becomes the first player in Toronto Raptors history to have his jersey retired.

Carter’s No. 15 will be raised to the rafters at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday with the Sacramento Kings in town.

You can watch the game at 7pm ET/4pm PT on TSN4/5 and streaming on TSN.ca or the TSN App. 

FURTHER READING: Check out Josh Lewenberg's 21 stories from 21 years of Vinsanity.

The reaction surrounding Carter’s jersey retirement announcement has been somewhat polarizing to say the least as his seven years with the organization were filled with incredible highs and some devastating lows, highlighted by accusations that he quit on the team before being traded to the New Jersey Nets in 2004.

But, apparently time – and winning an NBA championship – can heal all wounds as the majority of the Raptors’ fan base seem to have forgiven the Raptors legend in his return trips to Toronto during the latter portion of his career before his retirement in 2020.

Over 403 games with the Raptors, Carter made five All-Star teams and averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists alongside a .446 field goal percentage.

Let’s take a closer look at Carter’s time with the Raptors ahead of his number being retired by the team.

Carter makes an impact in rookie season

Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison

The Raptors entered the NBA in 1995 and didn’t make too much noise outside of the Canada during their first three years in the league.

Like most expansion teams, wins were few and far between and they played out of baseball stadium in a different country. So, respect from down South was hard to come by for the Raptors in those early years.

That all changed at the 1998 NBA Draft in Vancouver.

With the fourth overall pick, the Raptors selected North Carolina star Antawn Jamison before immediately dealing him to the Golden State Warriors for Tar Heel teammate Vince Carter.

The move will go down as one of the best in Toronto sports history.

Due to a lockout, the 1998-99 season did not begin until February.

In his first career game on Feb. 5, 1999, a 21-year-old Carter recorded 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, adding three rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block as the Raptors defeated the Boston Celtics, 103-92.

The Raptors won 23 of 50 games that season for their best winning percentage in franchise history (.460), surpassing their previous best of .366.

Thanks to Carter, who earned the nickname “Air Canada” because of his electrifying, high flying slam dunks, the Raptors started to garner some attention in the United States for the first time.

Carter averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists over 50 games in 1998-99, good enough to run away with the Rookie of the Year award, earning 113 of 118 first-place votes.

Jamison, on the other hand, averaged 9.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists for the Warriors.

This was just the appetizer as “Vinsanity” truly broke out the following season.

Carter puts Raptors on the map at 2000 Slam Dunk Contest

The popularity around Carter and the Raptors reached a whole new level in the 1999-00 season.

At the All-Star break, the Raptors sat fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 26-21 record as Carter earned a league-leading 1,911,973 votes in the All-Star Game fan ballot.

Everything changed for Carter and the Raptors franchise on Feb. 12, 2000 in Oakland.

Carter was one of the competitors for the annual Slam Dunk completion as part of All-Star Weekend.

If social media was around back then, it’s safe to say Carter and his dunks would be the No. 1 thing trending that night.

Carter stunned the fans, commentators and fellow camcorder-wielding basketball stars with his performance, highlighted by a 360-degree windmill jam before telling viewers at home “It’s over.”

The 2000 Slam Dunk Contest was the arguably the best of its kind and officially cemented Carter as a global superstar as well as putting Toronto on the basketball map for the first time.

Carter leads Raptors to first playoff appearance

Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady Raptors

After his memorable showing at the Slam Dunk Contest, Carter and the Raptors continued to excel on the court during the second half of the season.

Led by young talent in Carter, Tracy McGrady and Alvin Williams alongside notable veterans like Antonio Davis, Dell Curry, Doug Christie, Charles Oakley and Muggsy Bogues, the Raptors finished with a 45-37 record to secure their first playoff appearance in franchise history.

Carter played all 82 games for the first and only time as a Raptor that season, averaging 25.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists, alongside a career-best .465 field goal percentage and .403 from three. The Daytona Beach native, who added Half-Man/Half-Amazing to his growing collection of monikers by this time, scored a career-high 51 points against the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 27, 2000.

The Raptors took on the 50-32 New York Knicks in the Mecca of Basketball at Madison Square Gardens in the opening round of the playoffs.

Unfortunately, the Raps struggled offensively in the series and were swept in three games, never reaching 90 points.

Carter scored 16, 27 and 15 points in his first taste of the playoffs.

The peak of Carter’s time in Toronto and the beginning of the end

Vince Carter

Carter became a top-10 player in the Association during the 2000-01 campaign.

The third-year player averaged a career-high 27.6 points alongside 5.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists and was named to the All-NBA Second Team for the only time in his career.

Led by new coach Lenny Wilkens, the Raptors won a franchise-best 47 games to earn a playoff rematch with the Knicks.

The series went to a fifth and deciding game in MSG where the Raptors secured their first playoff series victory with a dramatic 93-89 victory. Carter played the entire 48 minutes and scored a team-high 27 points in the Game 5 win.

Up next was Allen Iverson and first-place Philadelphia 76ers.

The Raptors split the first two games in Philadelphia before taking a 2-1 series lead thanks to a 50-point performance by Carter on home court in Game 3.

Toronto would drop the next two games and needed a win at Air Canada Centre in Game 6 to force a Game 7 back in Philly. Carter dropped 39 in the victory.

May 20, 2001 marked the beginning of the end for Carter.

On the morning of Game 7, Carter elected to fly to North Carolina University for his graduation before making it back to Philadelphia for tip-off.

The move was heavily criticized by fans and media alike.

Carter once again played the full 48 minutes in Game 7, scoring just 20 points on 6-for-18 shooting. Still he had a chance to win it at the buzzer and send the Raptors to the Eastern Conference Final, but missed a tough 19-foot fadeaway jumper as time expired.  

The Raptors lost by one point as all Carter could do was smile as Iverson and the Sixers celebrated with their fans. 

It didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse.

New contract and injury problems

Vince Carter

In the summer of 2001, the Raptors locked in Carter with a six-year, $94 contract extension.

Toronto mayor Mel Lastman dubbed it “Vince Carter Day,” in the city as fans began to dream what could happen with Carter and other important pieces returning to the team.

The team posted a strong 29-21 record in the first half of the 2001-02 season, but fell off a cliff after the All-Star break, losing 13 straight games and 17 out of 18 to sit at 30-38 and out of a playoff spot.

The last game of the horrific stretch, a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 19, 2002, also marked the last game of Carter’s season as the left knee injury he was battling for months finally forced him to the sidelines and to surgery.

With Carter out of the lineup, the Raptors won nine straight and 12 of the last 14 games of the season to finish 42-40 and punch their third straight ticket to the postseason.

In the opening round against the heavily favoured Detroit Pistons, the Raptors forced a Game 5 after dropping the first two game on the road. With Carter cheering from the sidelines, the Raptors lost Game 5 by a score of 85-82 in Detroit, marking the last playoff game in the Vinsanity era.

Carter was named an All-Star again that season, averaging 24.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.0 over 60 games.

Carter’s downfall and the trade

Carter and the Raptors took a massive step back in 2002-03, finishing seventh in the Central Division with a 24-58 record.

Still dealing with knee problems, Carter was far from his electric former self, only averaging 20.6 points over 43 games.

With Kevin O’Neill now serving as head coach, it was much of the same for the Raptors in the 2003-04 campaign.

The team finished with just 33 wins as Carter averaged 22.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists alongside a career-low (at that time) field goal percentage of .417.

With the losing and poor play, Carter became noticeably disgruntled with the organization as rumours began to fly that he wanted a ticket out of Toronto.

The bad vibes continued in 2004-05 despite Sam Mitchell joining the team as head coach and Chris Bosh emerging as a star in his second NBA season. 

During an early season media scrum, Carter was asked by a reporter why he didn’t dunk as much anymore.

“I don't wanna dunk anymore," Carter quipped back, adding later that “dunking was overrated.”

This was right around the time of Mitchell’s famous “zero, zero, zero,” rant where he encouraged unnamed players to “quit” after a blowout loss to the Washington Wizards.

This stretch of time was a low point for the franchise.

It all came to a head a week before Christmas in 2004 when general manager Rob Babcock dealt Carter to the New Jersey Nets for an underwhelming package including Alonzo Mourning, who never reported to the team, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and two first round draft picks.

Fans were furious with the return and with Carter as many felt he had quit on the team. The once high flying talent was averaging just 15.9 points over 20 games before being dealt, a far cry from what he was producing just a few years prior.

Carter gets the last laugh

Vince Carter

In their first game against Carter, the Raptors defeated the Nets on the road by a score of 100-82.

But, it was Carter’s return to Toronto on April 15, 2005 that everybody had circled on their calendars.

It was the most anticipated game of the season for the Raptors, who were once again well out of the playoff picture. Carter had returned to superstar status during his time with the Nets as he was averaging over 27 points alongside a .462 field goal percentage since the trade. 

Before the game, Carter told the media that he “never bailed on the city,” despite requesting a trade.

"I have the utmost respect for the fans here. I remember back when the fans weren't quite sure when to cheer. I was here when it all started," he said.

"It's like anybody else when you need a change of scenery. When you are not happy or you feel like you need to move on with your job, you are entitled to do so.”

Carter also added that he grew frustrated with his failed efforts to encourage stars to come play in Canada.

"Every player I ever tried to get here asked, 'Yeah, but what about the taxes? Is there a soul food restaurant?"' Carter said. "It seems funny, but it's the truth. It's a strain for a lot of guys because when they come here they're like, 'Man, there's nothing to watch on TV.' When I first got here I didn't know what curling was. I thought it was just a version of bowling."

As for the game, furious fans booed Carter relentlessly from the pre-game player introductions to every time his touched the ball. It didn’t affect Carter in the slightest as he scored 39 points on 15-for-26 shooting in the Nets’ 101-90 win.

It was salt in the wound for Raptors fans everywhere.

It didn’t get any better for the Raptors the following season as Carter and the Nets defeated Canada’s team in each of their two games in Toronto.

The game on Jan. 8, 2006 left a particularly sour taste in Raptors’ fans mouths as Carter duped fan favourite Morris Peterson into a ridiculous ejection before nailing a fadeaway three-pointer at the buzzer for his 42nd point and the victory against his former team.

Things started to turn around for the franchise in 2006-07 as the Raptors made the playoffs for the first time since Carter’s ugly departure.

Of course, Toronto’s first-round opponent would be the Carter-led Nets.

The Raptors were able to give their fans a couple wins, but any hopes for true revenge was extinguished with a Game 6 loss in New Jersey as Carter stomped on the Raptors’ hearts once again.

The path to forgiveness

Carter spent two more seasons in New Jersey before joining the Orlando Magic in 2009, making subsequent stops with the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks to finish his career.

Led by DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry as well as executive Masai Ujiri, the Raptors began to turn a corner in 2013-14, beginning a string of seven straight playoff appearances, of course highlighted by an NBA championship in 2019.

Fans began to slowly forgive and forget during this time, giving Carter a standing ovation when he returned to Toronto as a member of the Grizzlies on Nov. 19, 2014.

Carter also received a warm welcome in March of 2020 with the Hawks, shortly before his retirement from the NBA.

Despite some tumultuous times, it appears most Raptors fans will remember the good moments from Carter’s time in Toronto as his jersey gets lifted to the rafters on Saturday.