Carter, 43, retires after record 22 NBA seasons
Vince Carter made his retirement official on Thursday, announcing on his podcast that his 22-year NBA career, the longest in league history, has come to an end.
The announcement was largely a formality because the 43-year-old Carter had said many times over the course of this season that this would be his last in the NBA. He became the first NBA player to appear in four different decades.
“Vince Carter has made an indelible impact on the NBA with his remarkable skill and enduring commitment,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who lauded Carter as “a true ambassador of the game.”
Carter appeared in 1,541 NBA games, behind only Robert Parish (1,611) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) on the league’s all-time list. He started his career with Toronto, then played for New Jersey, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento and spent his final two seasons with Atlanta.
Carter’s first season was the 199899 campaign, which was shortened to 50 games because of labor strife. His final season was shortened by the coronavirus pandemic, and the Hawks will not be part of the 22 teams headed to the Disney complex near Orlando, Florida, next month for the planned resumption of NBA play.
“It’s kind of a cool situation for me because I came into the league on a shortened season and I walk away from the league on a shortened season,” Carter said on the “Winging It” podcast. “So for me, it’s just kind of a unique situation.”
Carter scored 25,728 points in his career, 19th-most in NBA history.
The Hawks quickly lauded Carter for what he’s done, not just in two years with Atlanta but over the totality of his career.