Atlanta Hawks forward Vince Carter became only the fifth player in NBA history to amass 1,500 career games after Tuesday's matchup with the Miami Heat in South Beach.

Carter, 42, is in his 22nd season, a tenure longer than Miami's current American Airlines Arena. The eight-time All-Star started his career in 1998 with the Toronto Raptors, becoming the Canadian franchise's face through the beginning of his own career, winning Rookie of the Year in 1998-99.

Carter spent six-plus seasons with the Raptors before moving on to the New Jersey Nets, hoping to build a dynasty alongside Jason Kidd following their back-to-back Finals appearances. However, Carter never found that level of success in New Jersey.

Eventually, Carter made stints with the Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies before most recently playing a single season with the Sacramento Kings and landing with the Atlanta Hawks last year.

any believed Carter would have trouble finding a team to sign him last summer and he would retire. Instead, Carter returned this season with the Hawks, becoming a solid bench piece and veteran mentor for the young, rebuilding franchise.

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Earlier on Tuesday, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra called Carter “first-class” ahead of his career milestone.

“I'm a big fan of Vince. I've gotten to know him over the years. He's a first-class human being,” Spoelstra said.

Carter was already fifth all-time in the league's total regular-season games played, but he further cemented his legacy on Tuesday by crossing the 1,500 plateau. Only Robert Parish, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dirk Nowitzki and John Stockton are ahead of Carter on the all-time list.