According to Vince Carter, the first-ever numbers he wanted as a freshman at Florida’s Mainland High School were 6, 12, or 23, but none of them were available for him. This is when he decided to take some advice from his mother, who told her to strive for greatness.
“My mom told me: ‘Find a number and make it famous,’” Carter revealed what he used as his motto during his historic 22-year career. Decades later we are celebrating Vince’s No. 15 jersey, which has reached new heights as the Nets decided to retire it during this weekend’s halftime ceremony against the Heat.
Present at Saturday’s celebrations were the player’s family, his former teammates, ex-former Lawrence Frank, club president Rod Thorn, and even other retirees like Bill Melchionni, Buck Williams and even Julius Erving. Everyone was present to see Carter become the seventh Nets player to have his number raised to the rafters.
VINCE CARTER’S JERSEY IN THE RAFTERS. 🙌🔥
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— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 26, 2025
“This is truly something my family and I will cherish forever,” the Hall of Famer said during the ceremony. “To be the seventh number to go up is insane. It is an honor to be up there with you gentlemen. No. 15 Carter is going up there, but we’re going up there together.”
Fortunately for Vince, he sat the entire match next to Erving, who was his childhood idol. The former Nets superstar was then asked to talk about his first impressions of heading to New Jersey, while his number’s banner was being raised directly next to Jason Kidd’s No.5 jersey.
Vince started by praising Kidd for giving his the confidence he needed when the Nets acquired him from the Raptors back in 2004. “There was new life,” he recalled. “My role in Toronto was just give me the ball, and I’ll get you a (basket). But when I got here, they had a guy … he made the game easier for me.”
Even though the 48-year-old only played in 374 games during his four seasons for the Nets, he still holds the franchise’s NBA record for single-season points after dropping 2,070 in the 2006-07 campaign. Carter is also the third player with most points in the club’s history, with 8,834.
“We had fun, but we understood when it was time to lock in,” Carter shared during the ceremony. “We hung out and actually enjoyed each other and played for each other, and that’s what made the game fun. I went out and did my job and had a darn good time doing it.”
