(Reuters) – Atlanta Hawks guard Vince Carter officially announced his retirement from professional basketball yesterday after an NBA record 22-season career during which his high-flying dunks made him one of the game’s top players in his prime.
Carter, widely regarded as one of the greatest dunkers of all time, had previously said the 2019-20 NBA campaign would be his last but had not addressed his playing status since the NBA suspended its season in mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
After his first season in Toronto, Carter was named the NBA’s rookie of the year in 1999.
In his second season, Carter won the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend with a dazzling display that further increased his stardom and helped ignite basketball’s popularity in what had otherwise been an ice hockey-mad country.
Carter, who ranks 22nd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game during a career that also included stops in New Jersey, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento and Atlanta.
