‘THIS IS IT’
What Vince Carter said about Hall of Fame phone call, induction
GLENDALE, Ariz. – Vince Carter got the phone call on April 1.
Because of it being April Fool’s Day, Carter was initially a bit leary about answering with the expectation of receiving good news.
“I stepped outside. I needed all the fresh air I could get, just in case. (Former Duke player) Grant Hill is a friend of mine and he was trying to tell his story of that phone call and what it felt like for him,” Carter said recently from a stage inside a conference room at the Renaissance Glendale Hotel in Arizona.
“Going forward, I can share this story with anyone and you can’t put it in words. You can’t put it into words because of the magnitude and significance.”
As he reflected on a phone call that changed his life, Carter was sharing the stage with Chauncey Billups, Bo Ryan, Michael Cooper, Doug Collins, Charles Smith and Herb Simon as seven of the 13 inductees set to join the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class.
“The people that are in there and now you get that opportunity, it’s mindblowing for me,” said Carter, a former UNC basketball player and NBA standout.
“I enjoyed playing the game of basketball every day. I’m just overjoyed. Now that my career is over, somebody said it’s the cherry on top. This is it.”
As he looked around as his fellow inductees, even after that phone call and being invited to Arizona to celebrate his career, Carter still had a hard time wrapping his mind around it.
“You grow up and you develop a love for the game of basketball. You want to be the best version of yourself each and every day, whether it’s on or off the court,” Carter said.
“I have so many heroes that have been on this stage. … To watch it, to hear about it, to hear your friends saying, ‘Oh, you deserve to be in it.’ It’s all well and good until you get that phone call. Like everyone here, the reality is: it’s better than you can imagine.”
Vince Carter reflects on time with Tar Heels, Dean Smith
Surprisingly, or maybe not, Vince Carter didn’t spend too much time talking about basketball as he reflected on his time with the Tar Heels.
Carter played three seasons at UNC and was a first-team All-American in 1998. He led the Tar Heels to an ACC championship and Final Four, but he was more focused on the lessons he learned from former UNC coach Dean Smith.
Smith and Peggy Green, Carter’s late grandmother, are two people Carter wishes were here to celebrate this hallof-fame memory. A product from a “family of educators,” Carter discussed the importance of education and life after basketball. He mentioned returning to UNC in 2001 for his college graduation in the middle of the NBA Playoffs.
Then, he shifted the conversation to basketball and how Smith helped him maximize his career. Carter, who played 1,541 games and tallied 25,728 points in the NBA, is the first player in league history to appear in four different decades.
“Coach Smith and North Carolina set the tone for me to play 22 years, because I understood the game of basketball and I understood how to be a great listener, and take the nuances of the game and work at it,” Carter said.
Who will be Vince Carter’s presenters at Hall of Fame ceremony?
Vince Carter was asked if he had decided who would be presenting him at the Hall of Fame ceremony in August. He didn’t want to reveal that information just yet, but he plans on having two people take on that task.
“I want to ask them and make sure they say yes,” Carter said with a laugh. “That’s just the truth. One of ‘em better say yes, but the other one I’m gonna ask. I’ll have two.”
It’s a safe bet one of those presenters will be his cousin, Tracy McGrady, a Hall Famer who was a part of the class of 2017.
Either way, no matter who joins him on stage in Springfield, Carter will approach the ceremony with gratitude for being included in a group he never imagined could be a possibility.
“I have such a great appreciation for what this is and who is in the Hall of Fame. I get a chance to be a part of that,” Carter said.
“Say what you want, believe what you may, I just thought, ‘There’s no way I’m on the level of some of the ones that are in here.’ But, they’re allowing me in, and I’m gonna take it.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.