3) Vince played in 76 games.
For some context, Carter was essentially the oldest non-center in NBA history.
Only four other players have entered an NBA game at age 42 or older, and they
all did it from the center position: Former Hawks greatKevin Willis, Robert
Parish, Dikembe Mutombo and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Carter, on the other hand,
started playing some small forward for head coach Lloyd Pierce right after
turning 42 and, in a trend worthy of a Benjamin Button movie, made 41.1 percent
of his threes after his January 26 birthday.
“Being available in your late 30s and 40s, which is not many of us, that’s where
I pride myself and I feel good about the season individually,” Carter said.
“That’s my Rookie of the Year (Award). That’s my MVP. There aren’t many guys
doing it, and I want to set the tone for that next 40-plus-year-old. ‘If you’re
going to do it, can you do it like that?'”
4) Vince spaced the floor.
Opponents had to account for Carter defensively, given the skill and accuracy of
his three-point shot. He finished second on the Hawks and 34th in the NBA
overall by making 38.9 percent of his three-point attempts on the season. Carter
made more threes during the 2018-19 campaign – 123 of them, to be exact – than
he did in any of his past five seasons.
Carter shared his secrets with his teammates, too. Some of the other young Hawks
power forwards, including John Collins and Omari Spellman, credited him with
helping them with their footwork, balance and technique on their outside shots
this season.
5) On a roster full of young players, Vince added a veteran’s voice.
Of the 15 other players on the Hawks’ roster at the end of the season, only
three had hit their 6th birthday by the time Carter took the floor for his first
NBA game in 1999. Trae Young and Kevin Huerter hadn’t even had their first
birthdays yet. When the Hawks needed someone to show the younger players what to
do, Carter was there to be that gold standard.
“Vince is definitely a great mentor to have in the locker-room,” Dewayne Dedmon
said after the season. “A lot of the stuff you learn from Vince is just from
watching him, just the professionalism. He’s 42. He’s still out here, and Trae’s
20. He’s out here with these little kids and still getting it done. It’s
phenomenal.”
Player: Vince Carter
Media Content:
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eason
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eason
