Was Vince Carter at his best when with the Toronto Raptors?
Collective success after the Raptors
If we’re being perfectly candid, Carter had his most success once he left the Toronto Raptors – at least in terms of team success. I suppose it helps when you spend an extra 15 seasons all around the NBA once you’ve left the team that drafted you.
After leaving the Raptors, Carter spent five seasons with the New Jersey Nets and while he formed a strong core with Jefferson and Kidd, the three never really had a chance to play at full strength together in their first season together and won only 42 games. Still, that was enough to make the playoffs.
In his five and a half seasons with the Nets, Carter made it to the postseason three times but never progressed past the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Though he was often described as a fragile player, Carter missed only 11 games in his first four full seasons with the team and, at his peak with the team, averaged 27.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game.
After his spell with the Nets, Carter was traded to the Orlando Magic to provide support for Dwight Howard who had just taken the Magic to their first NBA Finals appearance since the 1994-95 NBA season when they were led by another dominant center: Shaquille O’Neal.
While the Magic couldn’t repeat their trip to the Finals, they got pretty close. Carter provided a strong scoring punch and averaged 16.6 points per game – which would be the lowest scoring total of his career to date – and the Magic got all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to the Boston Celtics in six games.
Later in his career, Carter would become an important member of the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies, performing admirably for the Mavericks in his second and third season with the team. He led the team in win shares during the 2012-13 NBA season but the Mavericks failed to reach the playoffs, winning just 41 games.
Interestingly enough, Carter joined the Nets, Magic, and Mavericks all one season after each time had made it to the Eastern Conference Finals – with the exception of the Nets who made the NBA Finals in 2002 and the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in 2003.
Carter was 28 by the time he left the Raptors but went on to play for another 16 seasons in the NBA – while it only ended up with one Conference Finals appearance, it’s fair to say that Carter found success.