Vince Carter isn’t ready to hang it up just yet.
On The Ringer’s “Winging It” podcast with teammate Kent Bazemore and co-host Annie Finberg, Carter said he’s ready to play season No. 22 in the NBA. Carter, who spent last season with Atlanta, said that he would like to return to the Hawks.
The conversation about Carter’s future comes about five minutes into the podcast as he and Bazemore are discussing the retirement seasons of Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade. Carter then shared his thoughts on Nowitzki announcing his plans to retire after his final home game with the Dallas Mavericks.
“I think he was at peace with his career and what he accomplished and felt it was time to go … not ya boy,” Carter said.
Bazemore: “You coming back?”
Carter: “Yep, I’m coming back, bro. I’m coming back.”
Finberg: “You coming back to the Hawks?”
Carter: “I would like to. We’ll see what happens.”
At the Hawks’ exit interviews, Carter, 42, said he hoped to play another season in Atlanta. He averaged 7.4 points per game and served mostly as a reserve for the 29-53 Hawks.
In early April, Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said of Carter: “[he] showed us what a true leader looks like. He showed us an unbelievable talent in this game can also be an unbelievable teammate. … We’re not worried about what decisions he’s going to make moving forward. I’m still in awe we were able to get him all year the way we got him.”
Carter ranks 20th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 25,430 points. Among active players, Carter currently ranks in the top five in games played (2nd), minutes played (3rd), 3-pointers made (3rd), field goals made (3rd) and points (2nd).
He crossed the 25,000-point mark last season with a 14-point game against the Toronto Raptors — who he played for from 1999-2004 — on Nov. 21. Fittingly for the former Slam Dunk Contest champion, he surpassed the 25,000th mark with a dunk.
Overall, he finished the season as one of the Hawks’ leading 3-point shooters (38.9 percent). Carter also helped call a game on TV for Fox Sports Southeast, doing so on the April 3 broadcast vs. the Philadelphia 76ers. He has made it clear throughout the last few seasons of his career that moving to broadcasting remains his goal once his playing days are done.
Carter signed a one-year veteran minimum contract last summer, making the Hawks the eighth team he played for (joining the Raptors, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings). He wanted to play for the Hawks because they offered a chance to earn extra minutes.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
