Although it may sometimes seem that Vince Carter has somehow discovered the fountain of youth, this is not the secret to the longevity of his 21-year career.

According to Vinsanity himself, all the credit goes to his inherent ability as well as his thorough understanding of the game he loves.

“The same guy has been here,” explained carter in Harry Lyles Jr.’s piece for SB Nation. “It’s just now I think my ability and my knowledge of the game is now taking over because I don’t dunk as much as people want me to. At the end of the day, I just know how to play the game, and it’s really helped me just do my role.”    

This may sound overly simple, but the reality is that it is anything but. Carter’s awareness of his role for his team along with the consciousness he has about his own body are what brought him to where he is today.

In his prime Air Canada had a reputation of being a ruthless dunker with a potent scoring ability. During his first decade in the NBA, Carter was averaging close to 25 points per ballgame.

Over the years he was successful in transitioning his game. He no longer regularly takes the ball to the rim with reckless abandon nor does he put up 20 points or more every night. Nonetheless he has remained relevant in the league.

There are still occasional flashes of the Carter of old, but he understands that his function as a role player and his veteran presence are what drive his value.

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VC is undeniably in the twilight of his career, but when you look at his numbers over the past three seasons he’s been with the Memphis Grizzlies, you might think otherwise.

In his first two season with the Grizz he averaged 6.2 points per contest in 16.7 minutes. This has amazingly increased this term to 7.9 points in 24.2 minutes despite Carter being 40 years old.

Although his increased usage rate this year is in large part because of the Grizzlies being banged up all season long, it is still astonishing nonetheless. This is definitely a testament to Carter’s ability to take care of his body and his constant development of the other facets of his game.