Vince Carter Reflects On His Final NBA Season in Atlanta

The current NBA season was set to be Vince Carter’s last season in his career as he was planning on retiring after joining the league in 1999.

However, in early March, the season shut down due to the coronavirus outbreak sweeping the nation.

Now, with the season on hold indefinitely, Carter reflects on his last season in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated.

The Atlanta Hawks star played against the New York Knicks on March 11 without realizing it could potentially be his last game ever. But, he says he’s content if that’s the case because he” ended on a pretty cool note.”

“I’m very appreciative. Let me say that before I even say the statement,” Carter said. “But a lot of people are like, ‘No, it can’t be the last.’ And that’s just, they want what they want. And I’m okay with that. And it’s a great feeling to know that people feel that way. But I’ve always been a realist, and try to be real about situations as possible. Like, it is what it is approach. And it’s unfortunate. And it’s one of those situations I have zero control over. So that’s just how it goes. I looked at the positive side of it. And that if it was my last game, I ended on a pretty cool note.”

Carter expressed that the moment was even more special because he shared it with the home fans at the Hawks Phillips Arena.

“Shared it with the home fans, which is always great,” he continued. “It had been a little different, obviously, on the road. And not in front of your fans. You’re in front of some fans. I’m sure the fans there. But nothing like being at home. And I was just thankful it ended like that. If anything. There had to be a way to end, and it was like that. So, I just said, it is what it is. And if it comes back, it’ll be like a pleasant surprise. ‘Hey, you’ve been rewarded 15 games. Or five games.’ Whatever the case may be. You know? And if not, I’m one with it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Carter opened up about the last game, where the Knicks defeated the Hawks 136-131. He shared his mindset going into the game, and shared his feelings about the moment fans started chanting his name.

“I was just kind of enjoying the moment, enjoying the game,” Carter said as he explained how he felt knowing it could potentially be his final game for a while. “Still locked in and engaged in the game. So it was hard to really think of anything else.”

“In real-time, it was just like, ‘Oh, you know, this could be the last game. I don’t know, whatever.’ That’s why I was like, ‘No, I didn’t want to go in. I didn’t want to go. It’s all good.’ And actually the second time they started chanting, that’s when it kind of hit me, like ‘You know, maybe this might be the last one. So let me go back in there.’ And when he looked at me, I was just like ‘Let’s do it.’ And I was just happy that I made my last shot. It’s one of those just in case things, just in case. You know? End it on a solid note. And I was just glad I was able to knock the last one in,” he added.

Carter felt the fans in the crowd were more aware of what was going on than the players.

“I think they had a better understanding of what was going on than we did,” he revealed. “Because obviously, we’re out there on the court. We got very little information of what happened right before the third quarter started. So that was about as much as we got. Because coach, I remember when he came up to me, he’s like, ‘You heard about what happened with the Utah player? Gobert.’ And I was like ‘No.’ He explains it. By the time he explained it, it was kind of time to tip off the third quarter. And we go from there. So that’s why I was just kind of like ‘All right.’ You know? And so they don’t really have much time to sink in.”