Vince Carter-DeMar DeRozan moment before Raptors jersey retirement is pure gold
11/03/2024 12:08 PM
Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan scored 33 points, dished out 4 assists and had 3 steals in a return to Canada against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night. Some day down the line, DeRozan will have his jersey lifted into the rafters of the arena he played in for nine seasons. But as for who the first former Raptor to earn this honor was going to be, there was little dispute that it should belong to 22-year NBA veteran and recent inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Vince Carter.
On Saturday night, the Raptors used the halftime break to honor Vince Carter, the man who was once known by the nickname “Air Canada.” Carter’s relationship with Raptors fans was sour for many years after he forced his way out of Toronto in 2005. But as the saying goes, time heals all wounds, and fans in The North were eager to welcome him home.
Before tip, DeMar DeRozan was eager to pay his respects to Vince Carter as well, as the two Raptors icons shared a moment courtside.
DeMar DeRozan daps up Vince Carter ahead of his jersey retirement ceremony
(via @NBA)pic.twitter.com/fX7AtpFK4G
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 2, 2024
Before the game, DeMar DeRozan spoke with the media about Vince Carter’s “deserving” jersey retirement.
“He's deserving. It's full circle, he's deserving and he needs all the love and appreciation because he changed the game for Canada basketball for sure," DeRozan said, per Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.
Raptors legend Vince Carter ‘put Toronto on the map’
DeMar DeRozan may be the Toronto Raptors’ all-time leading scorer, and Kawhi Leonard may have been the best player on the only Raptors team to win an NBA Title, and Kyle Lowry may be the franchise’s winningest player, but nobody has reached legend status in Toronto like Vince Carter.
At his apex, Vince Carter may have been the most popular basketball player alive, having put on arguably the greatest NBA Slam Dunk Contest performance ever in 2000 and taken the Raptors to within one game of the Eastern Conference Finals a little over a year later. Raptors team president Masai Urjiri summed it up best on Saturday night.
“He is a legend, he is an icon, he is Half Man Half Amazing,” Ujiri said. “He helped put Toronto on the map. He taught us how to fly. And those of us who don't know how to fly, he taught us how to dream how to fly."
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