- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,253,867
- Reaction score
- 59
DAYTONA BEACH — Vince Carter is one of the only people on Earth who knows what LeBron James is up against.
No one played more NBA seasons than Vinsanity’s 22 — until last season when King James sprinted past him with Year 23.
LeBron dominated this summer’s conversation, too. He left the Los Angeles Lakers and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, enhancing their title aspirations immediately. If he suits up for the entirety of his two-year contract, he’d be 43 at the end of it.
Carter retired at that age.
“I mean, what LeBron is doing is next level,” Carter told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Carter never planned to last 22 years.
“It’s funny,” he said. “When I got to the NBA, I honestly wanted to play 15 years.”
His goal was to stay in the game longer than Michael Jordan. If he managed that, he figured he would’ve done something right.
Then, he made it to 15 years.
“And I was like, ‘What? Leave? Are you crazy?’” Carter said with a laugh. “And I said, ‘Oh, two more years.’”
But Year 17 arrived, and he felt the same way. Why quit? He still enjoyed basketball, and he remained effective.
Carter extended his timeline two more years.
After reaching 19 seasons, he took it year by year, going all the way past his 43rd birthday to 22 campaigns. He assumed one of two things would force him to stop.
“Either, one, I’m not getting that phone call anymore, or two, my body’s breaking down and it’s just what it was,” Carter said. “I wanted to play, and that was the thing.”
Carter had just finished listing the numerous challenges of being a 43-year-old trying to keep up with 23-year-olds when it came time to ask him a dumb question.
Did anything get easier as he got older?
“Easier?” he said with another chuckle.
Yep.
“I’d be able to see the game, pick up on things and just to help others,” he said. “Just easy to find my spots in the offense. I was a smart guy. I didn’t jump higher or run faster than a lot of guys. It was easier because I didn’t have to guard all the guards. I was guarding some big men now. That was easy because a lot of these guys were two or three inches taller than me and probably 40, 50 pounds bigger than me.
“But I was just trying to outsmart these guys. But that was the NBA life. I’m in it. It’s supposed to be difficult. You’re supposed to go through tough times. I knew that. And I also knew at 40 I’m going to have rough days.”
The objective was trying to limit those days — or find ways to push through them.
So what were those hurdles?
“Obviously staying healthy,” Carter said. “But loving it and prioritizing what’s important. For me, I had to sacrifice time, hanging out with guys. I couldn’t go hang out, have a drink and then talk about being at practice the next day. Those are things I had to sacrifice.
“... I have to be in the gym early to get started and make sure I do the things I do so I don’t get hurt.”
Load management had slithered into the NBA by then, the mid-to-late 2010s. But make no mistake, Carter didn’t view that as an option.
“That’s one thing I told them,” he said. “I said, ‘Look, I know load management is a thing. I don’t give a darn how old you think I am. Don’t do that to me.’ I knew how to prepare. I knew how to find the time to do well because of my preparation. I got the rest to where I could play.”
For Carter’s final eight years, beginning with the 2012-13 campaign when he turned 36, he averaged more than 69 games per season.
That includes his last go-around, 2019-20, which was interrupted by COVID-19. Carter’s Atlanta Hawks hit the court for 67 games that season. He appeared in 60 of them.
Carter’s role differed from James’, though.
While LeBron has been a mainstay in his organization’s starting lineup and a focal point on offense, Carter occupied a bench role, requiring fewer minutes and less responsibility. He contributed 8.3 points on 7.1 field-goal attempts per game during his last eight seasons while never starting more than 15 times in any of them.
Beginning with the campaign in which James celebrated his 36th birthday, he’s posted 25.8 points on nearly 19 shots per game.
He’s subbed in off the bench only once in 357 regular-season contests, an average of 59.5 outings per year.
Like Carter stated, James has been next level.
Carter, now 49, is very much in tune with the current NBA landscape.
The eight-time All-Star works as an analyst for NBC, and earlier this year, he launched a podcast with second-cousin and fellow Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. Of course, they talk a lot of ball.
So, of course, Carter paid attention to LeBron’s free-agency journey to Philly.
“From a basketball standpoint, he is who he is,” Carter said. “I think he makes the game easier for them, but they’ll make the game easier for him. His demand to be LeBron James will always be there, but they won’t need him all the time because you have the dynamic of (Tyrese) Maxey, who is ascending, a champion in (Jaylen Brown), and then Joel (Embiid) can be Joel.”
Realistically, James could be the fourth or fifth scoring option for the first time in his life.
Maxey and Brown established new career highs last season, each averaging 28 points per game. Embiid is a two-time scoring champ who put up 26.9 points per matchup, albeit while injuries restricted him to only 38 games. And as a rookie, third overall pick VJ Edgecombe flashed plenty of potential with 16 points on a nightly basis.
James racked up a stat line of 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds.
Carter emphasized that Embiid’s health — and how the 76ers navigate it — will be crucial.
“I personally feel like their backup center is going to play a huge role in their success,” Carter said. “Yes, that starting five is fantastic. But whether Joel is 100% healthy or not healthy, you’re going to have to figure out how to manage him throughout the year. That backup center is going to be important for those reasons alone.”
But ...
“On paper, that team is pretty darn good,” he said.
Before the 2019-20 NBA season, Carter’s 22nd in the league, he revealed it would be his last.
But he admits something now.
Even after going public with his intentions, he wavered on the idea of retirement.
“I was not sure I made the right decision,” Carter said.
Until Dec. 21, 2019.
That night, his Atlanta Hawks traveled to Brooklyn to face the Nets. Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, sat courtside.
Carter and Bryant went back decades. Carter remembered how competitive and intense Bryant was on the hardwood — “pretty much an cornholio playing against him,” Carter said.
But that’s not the Bryant he observed that night.
Bryant looked relaxed, happy and at peace. He went viral when TV cameras caught him and Gigi smiling as he broke down the game to her.
Carter caught up with Bryant afterward and told him he struggled with the finality of stepping away from the sport.
Carter said: “(Bryant) was like, ‘Man, retirement is great. You’re going to love it. I’ve got a chance to be in my kids’ life. I get to coach them and help develop them and all this stuff.’ He said, ‘I promise you you’re going to enjoy it. We’ll get together, and we’ll talk about it.’”
On Jan. 26, 2020, Carter’s 43rd birthday, Bryant, Gigi and seven others died in a helicopter crash. Bryant’s appearance at the Nets-Hawks game a month earlier was the last time Carter saw him.
“Here’s a guy who’s been through it, understands it,” Carter said. “Like, ‘Hey, you’re about to step into this. I want to ease your mind.’ I told him I have a hard time saying it: ‘It’s my last year.’ That conversation, moving forward, was the time I was able to say ‘I’m retiring.’”
Which brings us back to LeBron James.
James announced this was his last free-agency decision. He intends to conclude his legendary career in a 76ers uniform.
But he has yet to spill those two definitive words.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: What Vince Carter learned playing until 43 — and why it matters for LeBron James
Continue reading...
No one played more NBA seasons than Vinsanity’s 22 — until last season when King James sprinted past him with Year 23.
LeBron dominated this summer’s conversation, too. He left the Los Angeles Lakers and signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, enhancing their title aspirations immediately. If he suits up for the entirety of his two-year contract, he’d be 43 at the end of it.
Carter retired at that age.
“I mean, what LeBron is doing is next level,” Carter told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Why Vince Carter played as long as he did
Carter never planned to last 22 years.
“It’s funny,” he said. “When I got to the NBA, I honestly wanted to play 15 years.”
His goal was to stay in the game longer than Michael Jordan. If he managed that, he figured he would’ve done something right.
Then, he made it to 15 years.
“And I was like, ‘What? Leave? Are you crazy?’” Carter said with a laugh. “And I said, ‘Oh, two more years.’”
But Year 17 arrived, and he felt the same way. Why quit? He still enjoyed basketball, and he remained effective.
Carter extended his timeline two more years.
After reaching 19 seasons, he took it year by year, going all the way past his 43rd birthday to 22 campaigns. He assumed one of two things would force him to stop.
“Either, one, I’m not getting that phone call anymore, or two, my body’s breaking down and it’s just what it was,” Carter said. “I wanted to play, and that was the thing.”
Vince Carter sacrificed to be effective NBA player after age 40
You must be registered for see images attach
Carter had just finished listing the numerous challenges of being a 43-year-old trying to keep up with 23-year-olds when it came time to ask him a dumb question.
Did anything get easier as he got older?
“Easier?” he said with another chuckle.
Yep.
“I’d be able to see the game, pick up on things and just to help others,” he said. “Just easy to find my spots in the offense. I was a smart guy. I didn’t jump higher or run faster than a lot of guys. It was easier because I didn’t have to guard all the guards. I was guarding some big men now. That was easy because a lot of these guys were two or three inches taller than me and probably 40, 50 pounds bigger than me.
“But I was just trying to outsmart these guys. But that was the NBA life. I’m in it. It’s supposed to be difficult. You’re supposed to go through tough times. I knew that. And I also knew at 40 I’m going to have rough days.”
The objective was trying to limit those days — or find ways to push through them.
So what were those hurdles?
“Obviously staying healthy,” Carter said. “But loving it and prioritizing what’s important. For me, I had to sacrifice time, hanging out with guys. I couldn’t go hang out, have a drink and then talk about being at practice the next day. Those are things I had to sacrifice.
“... I have to be in the gym early to get started and make sure I do the things I do so I don’t get hurt.”
Load management had slithered into the NBA by then, the mid-to-late 2010s. But make no mistake, Carter didn’t view that as an option.
“That’s one thing I told them,” he said. “I said, ‘Look, I know load management is a thing. I don’t give a darn how old you think I am. Don’t do that to me.’ I knew how to prepare. I knew how to find the time to do well because of my preparation. I got the rest to where I could play.”
You must be registered for see images attach
For Carter’s final eight years, beginning with the 2012-13 campaign when he turned 36, he averaged more than 69 games per season.
That includes his last go-around, 2019-20, which was interrupted by COVID-19. Carter’s Atlanta Hawks hit the court for 67 games that season. He appeared in 60 of them.
Carter’s role differed from James’, though.
While LeBron has been a mainstay in his organization’s starting lineup and a focal point on offense, Carter occupied a bench role, requiring fewer minutes and less responsibility. He contributed 8.3 points on 7.1 field-goal attempts per game during his last eight seasons while never starting more than 15 times in any of them.
Beginning with the campaign in which James celebrated his 36th birthday, he’s posted 25.8 points on nearly 19 shots per game.
He’s subbed in off the bench only once in 357 regular-season contests, an average of 59.5 outings per year.
Like Carter stated, James has been next level.
What Vince Carter thinks of LeBron James on Philadelphia 76ers
Carter, now 49, is very much in tune with the current NBA landscape.
The eight-time All-Star works as an analyst for NBC, and earlier this year, he launched a podcast with second-cousin and fellow Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. Of course, they talk a lot of ball.
You must be registered for see images
So, of course, Carter paid attention to LeBron’s free-agency journey to Philly.
“From a basketball standpoint, he is who he is,” Carter said. “I think he makes the game easier for them, but they’ll make the game easier for him. His demand to be LeBron James will always be there, but they won’t need him all the time because you have the dynamic of (Tyrese) Maxey, who is ascending, a champion in (Jaylen Brown), and then Joel (Embiid) can be Joel.”
Realistically, James could be the fourth or fifth scoring option for the first time in his life.
Maxey and Brown established new career highs last season, each averaging 28 points per game. Embiid is a two-time scoring champ who put up 26.9 points per matchup, albeit while injuries restricted him to only 38 games. And as a rookie, third overall pick VJ Edgecombe flashed plenty of potential with 16 points on a nightly basis.
James racked up a stat line of 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds.
Carter emphasized that Embiid’s health — and how the 76ers navigate it — will be crucial.
“I personally feel like their backup center is going to play a huge role in their success,” Carter said. “Yes, that starting five is fantastic. But whether Joel is 100% healthy or not healthy, you’re going to have to figure out how to manage him throughout the year. That backup center is going to be important for those reasons alone.”
But ...
“On paper, that team is pretty darn good,” he said.
Conversation with Kobe Bryant changed Vince Carter’s retirement outlook
You must be registered for see images
Before the 2019-20 NBA season, Carter’s 22nd in the league, he revealed it would be his last.
But he admits something now.
Even after going public with his intentions, he wavered on the idea of retirement.
“I was not sure I made the right decision,” Carter said.
Until Dec. 21, 2019.
That night, his Atlanta Hawks traveled to Brooklyn to face the Nets. Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, sat courtside.
Carter and Bryant went back decades. Carter remembered how competitive and intense Bryant was on the hardwood — “pretty much an cornholio playing against him,” Carter said.
But that’s not the Bryant he observed that night.
Bryant looked relaxed, happy and at peace. He went viral when TV cameras caught him and Gigi smiling as he broke down the game to her.
Carter caught up with Bryant afterward and told him he struggled with the finality of stepping away from the sport.
Carter said: “(Bryant) was like, ‘Man, retirement is great. You’re going to love it. I’ve got a chance to be in my kids’ life. I get to coach them and help develop them and all this stuff.’ He said, ‘I promise you you’re going to enjoy it. We’ll get together, and we’ll talk about it.’”
On Jan. 26, 2020, Carter’s 43rd birthday, Bryant, Gigi and seven others died in a helicopter crash. Bryant’s appearance at the Nets-Hawks game a month earlier was the last time Carter saw him.
“Here’s a guy who’s been through it, understands it,” Carter said. “Like, ‘Hey, you’re about to step into this. I want to ease your mind.’ I told him I have a hard time saying it: ‘It’s my last year.’ That conversation, moving forward, was the time I was able to say ‘I’m retiring.’”
Which brings us back to LeBron James.
James announced this was his last free-agency decision. He intends to conclude his legendary career in a 76ers uniform.
But he has yet to spill those two definitive words.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: What Vince Carter learned playing until 43 — and why it matters for LeBron James
Continue reading...
