Former NBA champ credits Vince Carter for making Drake & other stars a part of Raptors fan culture: "Put all that on the map"
Vince Carter will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame this season. In addition, the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets will retire Carter's No. 15 jersey. NBA champion and Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett believes 'Vinsanity' put Toronto on the basketball map.
While Carter didn't bring the franchise a championship, he did cement his place in its history while making sports fans notice the post-expansion era Raptors.
During a recent episode of KG Certified, Garnett described how 'Half Man, Half Amazing' had the city of Toronto jumping and how that effect snowballed.
"When Vince got to Toronto he made that a place, boy. He made it. He put the flag in the ground to not only come up here and watch us play, but, man, come up here in the summertime and see what Carabana's like and check out Canadian culture. ...
"I actually thought that the emergence of Drake, the emergence of the Weeknd, the emergence of Tory Lanez, the emergence of Nelly Furtado, Steve Nash. it put all that on the map. Vince coming up there making the 'oohs and ahs' and giving Toronto that just made Toronto another melting pot. He changed the culture, changed the basketball culture."
Vince Carter gets emotional when finding out his jersey will be retired by the Raptors
During Vince Carter's time with Toronto, the high-flyer made his mark on the organization. After being drafted fifth overall in 1998 by the Warriors, Carter was immediately traded to the Raptors for Antawn Jamison.
As a rookie, Carter wowed onlookers while averaging 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. He won the NBA's Rookie of the Year award, making it clear that he would be a difference-maker for years to come.
This week, before the 2024-25 NBA season begins, Carter will become a Naismith Hall of Famer and have his jersey retired by the Brooklyn Nets. The eight-time All-Star recently learned that Toronto will soon hang his No. 15 jersey from its rafters.
After Masai Ujiri announced the news, Carter became emotional as Raptors fans cheered him on.
"On behalf of all of us. We say congratulations, Vince. First jersey to go up."
His jersey retirement takes place in November, making it the first ever to be retired by the Raptors. While Bill Russell's No. 6 is retired across the league, no Raptors jerseys have been hung in the Scotiabank Arena.