Carter returning to Hawks to play 22nd NBA season
ATLANTA — Vince Carter is putting off retirement for at least one more season.
With that, he will claim the longest career in NBA history all to himself.
A person familiar with the situation confirmed that Carter has agreed to terms on a one-year contract to return to the Atlanta Hawks for his record 22nd season.
Carter, 42, never wavered in his desire to play with someone this season. He is tied with Robert Parish, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis and recently retired Dirk Nowitzki — all of whom played for 21 seasons — for the longest career in NBA history.
“Just waiting for the right opportunity,” he said on a recent conference call to discuss the upcoming Jr. NBA Global Championship, when questioned by a reporter from the Atlanta JournalConstitution. “Nothing has changed as far as that goal and that dream of mine.”
Carter entered the league in 1998 as the fifth overall pick out of North Carolina. He began a run of 10 consecutive seasons where he was selected to the All-Star Game appearances and averaged more than 20 points a game.
Carter was dealt to New Jersey in a blockbuster trade early in the 2004-05 season and spent nearly five seasons with the Nets. Since then, he bounced around to Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis and Sacramento before landing in Atlanta last season.
In other pro basketball news:
• The Memphis Grizzlies hired former Notre Dame women’s associate head coach Niele Ivey as an assistant coach. Ivey, who is the ninth female assistant coach in the NBA, spent the past 12 seasons at her alma mater with the last four as the Irish’s associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.