NBA rim-rocker Vince Carter recently joined Ben Rohrbach of Yahoo Sports to look back on his successful career. Amid their discussion, Carter noted that a meeting with Julius Erving after the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest left him awestruck.

Players often go through what is known as a “welcome to the league” sort of moment in the early stages of their careers. They might get dunked on or embarrassed on the court in some way. For Carter, who played against some of the best players in history, it was meeting Erving.

Carter says Dr. J was the first person to greet him in the back room after winning the Slam Dunk Contest:

Yahoo: What was your ‘Welcome to the NBA’ moment?

Carter: Obviously, playing against guys who I tried to model my game after or tried to take pieces of their game, like [Scottie] Pippen, Grant [Hill], Penny [Hardaway], some from [Michael Jordan]. I played against MJ, so it doesn’t get bigger than that.

But I’ll tell you what: One of the things that floored me in terms of being awestruck, after winning the dunk contest and going through the trophy ceremony, as soon as I walked through the back, Dr. J was the first person right there. He shook my hand and was like, “Congratulations, young man.” I’ll never forget it.

Dr. J was one of my heroes. He’s who I looked up to as a role model. He was my No. 1. We took a picture together with the trophy. I saw that picture in storage at my house, and to this day I can’t believe it. Of all people, he was the first person. When you think of dunking, you think of Dr. J, so you couldn’t write a better story. I was floored. It was like, “Oh, man, you’ve gotta be kidding me. It doesn’t get any better than this.” He congratulated me, talked with me and took a picture with me and two of my buddies who were there. That’s the one thing that really stuck out to me.

Carter, now 42 years of age, went on to become one of the more recognizable figures in the NBA. His high-flying dunks and smooth stroke from the perimeter inspired countless young players who followed him. After winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1999, the former No. 5 overall pick earned eight All-Star nods.

Now, he is a free agent that is looking to play one more season. Carter will be given a farewell tour this season to recognize the amazing career that he has put together.