He was wearing the No. 15 purple jersey, the perpetual 5 o’clock shadow and the square jaw that gives him that annoyed look. His jump shot floated feathery off his fingertips and he seemed to glide as he moved.
All of which got me to thinking, “Didn’t you used to be Vince Carter?”
“That’s OK. I don’t care, really,” Carter said about rarely being mentioned anymore among the few elite in the NBA. “I’m here to play basketball. Even if I was playing my best basketball, it’s not etched in stone that they’d say I was the best player in this league, or the best guard or forward or whatever I’m classified as. For me to worry about that would be useless.”
Who is this Vince Carter?
He’s still a wonderful basketball player, scoring so effortlessly you wonder why he doesn’t do it more often. He seems always to leave you asking for–or expecting–more. As he did once again Wednesday night in the Bulls’ 101-95 victory, scoring a quiet 19 points. Antonio Davis took more shots, Voshon Lenard just as many.
“Like we say, `You have to be a little selfish to be a great player,'” Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens said. “I think Vince is very unselfish. Sometimes I think he should be shooting it and he’s passing it. He’s coming back from injury and wants to do everything he can to help the team win. Vince is a little different from those other guys [like Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady]. Points don’t mean as much to him.”
It’s really not clear what does. Carter, he could have been a contender–for MVP every year, for championships. For the torch of excellence that Michael Jordan once carried.
It seemed it was all his two years ago. No one was more exciting, or perhaps better, than Carter in a magical run from the 2000 All-Star Game to the end of the 2000-01 season. He led his team to a Game 7 of the conference semifinals, averaging 27.3 per game in the postseason.
He electrified the NBA world with a dazzling display in the dunk contest during All-Star weekend. He finished fifth in the NBA in scoring at more than 27 per game. He had a 51-point game. He went to the 2000 Olympics and was the United States’ best player, leading his team in scoring and highlight dunks as he saved it at the end of the near-loss to Lithuania. Vince Carter was the NBA’s world. He just was letting everyone play in it.
Then that sad look Carter carries became etched across his career.
The Raptors fell out of contention, and only made a run into the playoffs after Carter went out last season. Knee injuries sidelined Carter again this season. His playing time was limited when he returned as seemingly a different guy.
Before Wednesday night’s game, Carter was averaging 13 points in the last three games, 18.2 on the season. He was outgunned badly down the stretch Wednesday by Jalen Rose. Carter was hobbling as badly as his team.
Ego is not a bad thing in sports. All the great ones have plenty of it. Those 40 points per game for Bryant aren’t all in the offense. They weren’t for Michael Jordan. Magic Johnson didn’t have to look away to make those passes. Larry Bird didn’t have to tell opponents he was going to beat them. But all these players did.
There are all sorts of whispers about Carter, such as he doesn’t like contact. That’s why he doesn’t drive often. Or that he’s lazy, doesn’t care, doesn’t work hard enough. That he needs to be provoked such as he was by Charles Oakley a few years ago, that the organization babies him too much.
Still fans admire his talent. Carter again was voted an All-Star starter even though he had played barely 10 games by the time the voting concluded.
Maybe he simply wants to play. Do you have to be a star? Maybe Carter is the healthy one, the one with his priorities in order. He makes a fortune. Plays a game for a living. Wants to involve his teammates in the game.
Maybe he’s right and everyone else is wrong, although that’s hardly the way stars are born or made.
“The world’s going to get caught up in highlight dunks and who scores more points, but I just try and stay in the middle,” Carter said. “I’m thankful for everything that has come my way and I’m learning from all the criticism. It just makes me stronger. There are a lot of doubters. You just can’t make everybody happy.”
