TORONTO — You don’t get to choose your own history. It would be nice if you could. Sliding moments onto a timeline, displaying the perfect amount of growth, and creating the perfect narrative arc — who wouldn’t want that? That’s now how time works.
The Toronto Raptors will start their 30th NBA season in October (and get ready for copious invocations of nostalgia), and the first half of that lifespan was more or less a calamity, occasionally interrupted by moments of electricity. Nobody supplied more of those moments than Vince Carter, who the Raptors will honour on Nov. 2 when they retire his No.
15. When Masai Ujiri confirmed the news at a refurbished court named after Carter on the west side of the city, the soon-to-be Hall of Famer bent down and covered his eyes as parents and children in the community cheered. Advertisement Carter knew it was coming, but still, in a way, couldn’t believe it.
The journey to get here was complicated, one of a superstar failing to stand by his franchise and a franchise failing to support its first real superstar. That reality was captured well in the first decade following Carter’s departure from Toronto when enthusiastic jeering welcomed him back. Now, Carter will become the first player to have his number retired by the Raptors.
15 Forever 💜 pic.twitter.com/SYHN1okj2A — Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) September 27, 2024 “To be honest with you, this is what I wanted more than anything,” Carter said of his formal reconnecti.