Name: Vincent Lamar Carter
Born: January 26, 1977 in Daytona Beach, FL
Team: New Jersey Nets
Position: Shooting Guard, Small Forward
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 220 lbs.
Nicknames: VC, Vince the Prince, Half-Man/Half-Amazing
High School: Daytona Beach Mainland in Daytona Beach, FL
College: University of North Carolina
Drafted: 1998; 1st round, 5th pick by the Golden State Warriors (traded along with cash to the Toronto Raptors for the rights to Antawn Jamison)
Teams Played For In Career:
- Toronto Raptors (1998-2004)
- New Jersey Nets (2004-Present)
MAJOR AWARDS AND HONORS:
Rookie of the Year
- 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year
NBA All-Star
- 1999-00 All-Star
- 2000-01 All-Star
- 2001-02 All-Star
- 2002-03 All-Star
- 2003-04 All-Star
- 2004-05 All-Star
- 2005-06 All-Star
- 2006-07 All-Star
All-NBA Teams
- 1999-00 All-NBA Third Team
- 2000-01 All-NBA Second Team
Background:
Coming out of high school, Carter was compared a lot to Michael Jordan. Mostly for two reasons - he was going to the University of North Carolina and he could "jump out of the building." Carter thrived in college and came out after his junior year. Carter was chosen fifth overall in the 1998 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors and was immediately traded to the Toronto Raptors for the rights to his North Carolina college teammate and best friend Antawn Jamison who was chosen with the previous pick.
His Career Thus Far:
Carter has proven to be a dangerous scorer, not only from his drives to the basket and subsequent slams, but also for his strong perimeter game. In Carter's second year with the Raptors, the team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and made the playoffs the following two seasons as well. Carter's most controversial playoff moment took place on the eve of Game 7 of the 2001 Eastern Conference playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. He attended his UNC graduation on the morning of the crucial playoff game and later in the evening missed the game-winning shot with two seconds left in the game. Carter was criticized for choosing his academic achievement over the team that day. On December 17, 2004, Carter was traded to the New Jersey Nets for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and two future first-round draft picks.
Carter is best known for his dunking ability. The 2000 NBA Slam Dunk contest has been regarded as the best slam-dunk contest in recent history and Vince Carter was the star. Air Canada dazzled the crowd with a 360 Windmill, between the legs and stuck his arm in the rim to elbow dunks. However, his best dunk was during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia where he hurdle over 7'2" French center Frederic Weis before slamming it home. See it here. Best. Dunk. Ever.
MORE ON VINCE CARTER:
