TORONTO — An emotional Vince Carter acknowledged his contentious exit from Toronto as his No. 15 jersey became the first number retired by the Raptors in a halftime ceremony during Saturday night’s game against Sacramento.
“It’s not just Carter 15 going up, it’s all of us going up,” Carter told fans before a banner with his name and number was lifted to the rafters. “The memories, however you view it, goes up tonight. I hope and pray we enjoy our jersey being retired forever together.”
Carter walked to center court to begin the ceremony and gestured with his hands to request cheers from the crowd, and then balled his fists and roared “Come on!” before saluting the response.
Former Toronto teammates Tracy McGrady, Antonio Davis, Kevin Willis, Charles Oakley, Morris Peterson, Dee Brown, Jerome Williams, Alvin Williams and Muggsy Bogues joined Carter, his family and Raptors president Masai Ujiri on the court for the ceremony.
“He taught us how to fly,” Ujiri said in introducing Carter to the cheering crowd.
Carter had to pause several times to control his emotions or dab at tears during a pregame news conference. At one point, speaking about his family, a tearful Carter beckoned his young son Vincent Jr. to join him at the podium for an embrace.
The only player in NBA history to play in four decades, Carter spent the first six-plus of his record 22 seasons with the Raptors. He was the 1999 Rookie of the Year in his first season and an All-Star and the Slam Dunk champion in his second, when Toronto made the playoffs for the first time.
Swept out of the first round by the Knicks in his first postseason, Carter and the Raptors returned to the playoffs the following spring and upset New York by winning Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.
Before Saturday’s game, Carter recalled that series victory as one of the best memories of his time in Toronto.
“Going through what [former Knicks coach] Mr. Jeff Van Gundy put me through with his defense, I was excited to have that opportunity to go against that defense again,” Carter said.
Carter is credited for impacting basketball across Canada, influencing a generation of future NBA players such as Tristan Thompson, former Raptors guard Cory Joseph and current Toronto forward Kelly Olynyk.
“The legacy is still growing,” Carter said. “This is the icing on the cake.”
Thompson was one of several players, including Stephen Curry and former Raptors Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, to record a congratulatory message for Carter in a video that played before the on-court ceremony.
“I wouldn’t be here without you,” Thompson said.
Early on in his Toronto tenure, Carter earned the nickname “Air Canada” for his high-flying dunks. As injuries mounted and his production declined, Carter faced criticism from fans for becoming less aggressive when he settled for jumpers rather than driving and drawing contact.
In December 2004, Carter was traded to the Nets for Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams, Aaron Williams and a pair of first-round draft picks. Mourning never played for Toronto.
For years, there was anger and animosity from Raptors fans toward Carter after he pushed to be traded out of Toronto.
A decade on from that deal, the relationship-mending began when Carter visited Toronto with the Memphis Grizzlies on Nov. 19, 2014. The Raptors, who were celebrating their 20th anniversary that season, honored Carter with a tribute video during a first-quarter timeout.
Speaking in the halftime ceremony, Carter called it “a day I’ll never forget.”
Although a few fans booed as the montage began that night, most of the sellout crowd of 19,800 soon stood and cheered. An emotional Carter raised his arms, tapped his heart and wiped tears from his eyes.
During his pregame news conference, Carter was overcome with emotion again as he recalled watching that video almost a decade ago.
“It’s something about seeing those highlights in this building, because that’s where it was created,” he said.
Carter retired in 2020 at age 43. Last month, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Earlier Saturday, a mural of Carter was unveiled in downtown Toronto. In September, the Raptors unveiled a revitalized Vince Carter Court at a Toronto park.