Following Jason Kidd's induction in 2018, another Nets legend is headed to Springfield. Vince Carter has been elected into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Athletic's Shams Charania reported Wednesday.
The 2024 class will be announced Saturday at the NCAA Final Four. Chauncey Billups was also elected, according to the report, while Jerry West will get his third different Hall of Fame honor. Carter's enshrinement ceremony will take place on Aug. 17. With the eight-time All-Star receiving the prestigious honor, it's time for the Nets to follow suit with their own recognition and retire his number.
Nets must retire Vince Carter's jersey
Following an electrifying start to his career with the Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter was traded to New Jersey and played five seasons with the Nets 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 with three All-Star appearances, 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).
The Nets didn't have the team success they hoped for after trading for 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.
However, Carter's jaw-dropping dunks and signature “V-C-three!” arena announcement became staples of the fan experience at the Meadowlands. Such plays represent some of the most memorable moments of the team's New Jersey era.
Vince Carter’s best plays with the Nets 😳 pic.twitter.com/tLQld4mGH7
— Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) July 19, 2020
Carter has served as an analyst for YES Network on the Nets' TV broadcast for select games this season.
The Nets have retired six numbers in the franchise's history: Bill Melchionni (25), Julius Erving (32), John Williamson (23), Buck Williams (52), Drazen Petrovic (3) and Jason Kidd (5). Only three of those players were inducted into the Hall of Fame: Kidd, Petrovic and Erving.
Kidd is the only player in the group to play in the 2000s. Besides him, Petrovic is the most recent to take the floor, playing his last season in 1993. The lack of retired numbers over the last three decades speaks to how few elite players have made a lasting impact on the organization.
New Jersey's lack of team success during Vince Carter's tenure opens the floor for debate about whether his number should grace the rafters of Barclays Center. However, for a franchise with so few transcendent talents to call its own, his lasting impact on a generation of fans deserves recognition.
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