The New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets have retired six numbers in the franchise's history. That number will jump to seven next season, with the team announcing Wednesday that it will raise Vince Carter's No. 15 to the rafters.
Carter was elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in April. At that time, the Nets flew to his home in Orlando to surprise him with a message from his New Jersey co-star, Jason Kidd.
“Congratulations on having your number retired next to my number five,” Kidd said. “You made the game so easy, maybe too easy. But congratulations on having an incredible career. I think you played 40 years, somewhere around there. Well deserved, understanding you were one of my best teammates in New Jersey… You made me look good. So thank you, congratulations.”
Carter responded to the message and announcement.
“Talking about I made him look good. Man, he made me look good,” he joked. “But I think about coming into the league and trying to be the best player you can be. And you're going through it [in Toronto], then you go through a trade and you get new life. Especially playing with somebody like J Kidd, who was a Hall-of-Famer, a legend, up in the rafters as well.”
“And I heard a story from [former Nets press relations vice president] Gary Sussman talking about how J Kidd, after I hit that shot in Toronto, he felt like I was the guy that he can trust. And he would jump in the foxhole [with me] against anybody, anytime. So, for me to get that opportunity again, to be a part of the franchise, be a go-to guy, it was a breath of fresh air. And it was fun to play with that guy because he made the game easy for me. So it's pretty dope, man. Because it's forever up there. It's Nets 15 Carter. You can't use it again. It doesn't get any better than that.”
Vince Carter joins a small group of Nets legends
Carter will join Kidd (5), Bill Melchionni (25), Julius Erving (32), John Williamson (23), Buck Williams (52) and Drazen Petrovic (3) in the rafters at Barclays Center.
The eight-time All-Star played five seasons with New Jersey from 2005 to 2009. He scored 27.5 points per game in his first year with the team, the highest single-season scoring average in the franchise’s NBA era. Carter finished his Nets tenure averaging 23.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals on 45/37/81 shooting splits over 374 appearances.
His 8,834 points rank third on the Nets' all-time scoring list, trailing Brook Lopez and Buck Williams, despite playing over 1,600 fewer minutes than both. Carter's 23.6 points per game also rank third among players to play at least 150 games with the team, trailing only Rick Barry (30.6) and Julius Erving (28.2).
Despite his elite numbers, the Nets didn't have the team success they hoped for with Carter. They made the playoffs his first three years with the team, losing in the first round once and the second round twice. The first second-round loss (2006) came against the NBA champion Miami Heat, while the second (2007) came against the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons.
Despite this, Carter's high-flying dunks and signature “V-C-Three!” arena announcement became staples of the fan experience at the Meadowlands.
Carter served as an analyst for YES Network on the Nets' TV broadcast for select games this season. He will join Kidd as the only Nets with retired numbers to have played in the 2000s. The next most recent is Petrovic, who last took the floor in 1993.
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