Raptors should announce retiring Vince Carter's jersey soon

[PerfectJab]

Part of the reason we cant get stars to stay or sign here is our fanbase sucks. I would not want to play for the raptors if I were a superstar. If you ask any superstar if they should retire Vince's jersey 100% they say yes. Would you have prefered if Vince just left after his rookie deal like shaq did w the Magic?

You guys are wrong, not them.

No way! Pass! We saw what you did to Vince. Not happening.

What are they supposed to say, no?

Vince was never a superstar. How can you not make the all nba 1st team once if you were a superstar? Superstars are consistently in the top 5 when it comes to MVP voting, he never even came close to it. I'd challenge anyone to find a superstar that never hit top 5 in MVP voting thorough their entire career. What people wanted to see was his dunking and he was hyped as a result. That's the reality. Take away the dunking he's a shooter with no defense.

Vince's most memorable accomplishments was winning the dunk contest the way he did and dunking over Weis.

[speedythief]

Absolutely not.

[40 Guzzle]

[That point about Tristan and Corey ... I have no idea where that came from but ... alright?

That part was not directed at you specifically, but.... the "PUT US ON THE MAP" camp believe Vince inspired a generation of athletes to play hoops who would have otherwise chosen other sports, or joined Math Club.

If VC never existed tell me which major division 1 school Jamal Murray would be spiking volleyballs for?

STOP IT.

Basketball was on the rise, period.

[srhcan]

Vince will get his jersey retired despite the way things ended with the Raptors. He was our first All-Star, first Raptor to make it to the All-NBA 2nd and 3rd team, and he took us to our first playoffs and our first playoff series win. He really helped the Raptors remove their expansion tag and put the Toronto Raptors on the NBA map. That is enough for his jersey to hang up on the rafters.

exactly; his accomplishments for Raptors are too great to be ignored.

[ForeverTFC]

I was at Vince’s first game back, wearing a shirt that said “half man, half a season” above a picture of an injured VC on the floor of the ACC on the front and “make your decisions without your mother” on the back. I cheered when he hit the game winner.

I’ve grown up since and it surprises me how some folks from back then are still holding on to the exit. Vince is the reason Basketball is my favorite sport ahead of the Leafs and the Jays. My room was covered with VC posters even when all of my friends were die hard Leafs fans and puck heads. I’m sure tons of Raptors fans are in the same boat. Maybe I’m discrediting Mighty Mouse, but to me Vince created the first generation of Raptors fans in Toronto. Retiring his jersey is a must as far as I’m concerned.

With that said, I’d like it to be Lowry first.

[TheFutureMM]

Truly, in my heart of hears, don't believe he did enough as a player to warrant his jersey being retired.

Said it time and time again on this board. If you want to make the argument for his impact on basketball in Canada, sure, I can understand that, but in terms of what he accomplished as a Raptor, I feel were better off not putting the bar at that level.

[Clay Davis]

Now say what you about Vince Carter, the man was our first superstar, put a fledgling team from up North on the map! Without Air Canada, maybe we'd have gone extinct, like the ursus arctos horribilis del Vancouverus. His rizz was like a wave -- flying through the air -- til it eventually hit the sand. But the man wore a Raptors jersey when he nailed the craziest dunks the game had ever seen -- motha sucka invented the honey dip, ya dig? And in his twilight years, he came to us penitent. Now, do I know if he's sincere? I don't, but I'll judge a man at his word when he got lil to gain but his legacy, and if he wants his jersey retired, I say "yessir!".

Since we lost the man Kobe "Bean" Bryant, I've always been in favour of giving our legends their roses while they can still smell 'em. So let the brotha's jersey float up into the rafters -- so long as it's after my main man K Low, I'm for it.

[REJECTEDBYCLARK]

Vince had his chance to get his number retired one day by the Raptors by playing his ass off and being loyal to the organization, fans and city. He elected not to do that and his number not hanging from the rafters is a consequence of his actions that nobody should be seeking to change.

You get your number retired for what you've accomplished on the court. Vince helped a noob franchise make a little bit of noise in the playoffs one year and nothing more. He doesn't deserve to get his number retired any more than Demar does and Demar absolutely doesn't deserve to get his number retired.

You wanna name a park after Vince or make a modest statue of him and put it somewhere in the city then go ahead.

[asuran]

One of the best Raptors player of all time. Yes, his jersey should be retired.

[Kingsway_fan]

Vince is still the biggest star that wore the Raptors jersey.

Hands down. In toronto. And throughout the NBA... he is the face of Toronto Raptors franchise... the true generational superstar.. . Nothing comes close. Don't kid yourself.

Glad I got to witness his games... electrifying talent. Everywhere in the league including Toronto fans came out just to see him play... nothing since then.

The whining cry babies can go watch the perennial losing Leafs... a better fit.

[Drakeem]

Please, please god no. I respect him as a player and don't really hold any anger or anything like that with the way he left the team, but you can't set the standard that low. Who cares if he was our first real star? Dudes highlights here were making the second round and having an amazing dunk contest. He wasn't here long enough, didn't accomplish anything worth mentioning, and the lowlights of his stay here make up too much of the history to retire his jersey.

Lowry and DeRozan should be the first two retired as they anchored the most successful part of Raptors history and were the duo to turn the franchise into a winning one.

[Drakeem]

20 years later, and grown ass men in here still in their feelings, chefkiss.jpg

Interesting topic.

I think the older folks like myself who saw vince play would yes for the retirement Jersey. The younger generation who really never saw him play would say no.

I vote for Vince. Back then raptors wouldnt have been talked about if it wasn't for Vince. That's facts

You literally couldn't go a single day without VC and the Raps on sports center....the ESPN one. Lead the ASG voting 3 years in a row, and quite frankly, the only reason anyone gave a single **** about the Raps outside of toronto.

I can get not wanting his number retired, but the attempt to act like he wasn't a transcendent star in the NBA those years is just stupid. But I'm sure all bad players are in trade rumours to swap with Kobe.

Is anyone disputing his talent? I think the fact that he was so good adds to the upset part of this all. Jersey retirement doesn't necessarily coincide with talent; it's what you've done for the franchise. Typically people who get their jerseys retired win a title, have a long period of success with the franchise (think like a Pierce or Dirk as far as longevity), or who helped usher in the most successful era of that team. Vince did none of that. He was popular sure, but it's not like the Raptors really did anything of note.

[CazOnReal]

Absolutely the f*ck not.

How you leave a team - if a player does leave said team i.e. Hakeem over the Rockets lowballing him in free agency, hence how he became a Raptor or Ewing being a part of that botched Magic trade - matters. Vince's exit has arguably never been topped in terms of the sheer pettiness and ugliness on display. That's not something your status in Canadian basketball - aka. not Raptors basketball but basketball in the country the Raptors play which is an important distinction - or in "saving the franchise" which is a title that's often espoused but doesn't align with ticket sales for the Raptors, can salvage. It certainly doesn't warrant his jersey being retired, let alone before DeMar, Lowry and, to be blunt, Siakam.

[TheWave]

Absolutely the f*ck not.

How you leave a team - if a player does leave said team i.e. Hakeem over the Rockets lowballing him in free agency, hence how he became a Raptor or Ewing being a part of that botched Magic trade - matters. Vince's exit has arguably never been topped in terms of the sheer pettiness and ugliness on display. That's not something your status in Canadian basketball - aka. not Raptors basketball but basketball in the country the Raptors play which is an important distinction - or in "saving the franchise" which is a title that's often espoused but doesn't align with ticket sales for the Raptors, can salvage. It certainly doesn't warrant his jersey being retired, let alone before DeMar, Lowry and, to be blunt, Siakam.

Only Lowry and Siakim

[ATLTimekeeper]

The whole 'influenced' a generation of Canadian basketball talent argument is going to crater soon anyway as those players are near retirement age themselves and now we're getting into the guys that grew up watching DeMar.

In terms of impact on league marketing, Vince is peerless among Raptors. No Raptor has ever had that kind of heat. For that alone, I think he deserves his # retired. I just can't see an argument it should come before Lowry, who made the most of his talents here and won it all. To me it would be a betrayal to Lowry's legacy to hang up Vince's jersey first.

[OakleyDokely]

They should have a ring of honor like the Jays have so you can honor a players accomplishments without retiring their jersey.

[TheGeneral99]

Part of the reason we cant get stars to stay or sign here is our fanbase sucks. I would not want to play for the raptors if I were a superstar. If you ask any superstar if they should retire Vince's jersey 100% they say yes. Would you have prefered if Vince just left after his rookie deal like shaq did w the Magic?

You guys are wrong, not them.

No way! Pass! We saw what you did to Vince. Not happening.

What?

Most players consider Toronto fans one of the best in the NBA. You want to talk about bad fans...look at fanbases like Boston or Philly who regularly hurl racist insults at players every game. Players have praised how passionate but also how cordial and friendly Raptor fans are.

Also, Raptors had no issue resigning all-stars like Demar and Kyle multiple times so not sure what you mean by the Raptors can't get stars to stay.

In terms of signing high profile free agents...very few franchises other than LA or Miami have had success poaching superstar free agents. It's very rare. The best free agent Boston signed in the last two decades was Gordon Hayward...the best free agent the Knicks signed in the last two decades was Amare...the best free agent Chicago has signed in the last two decades was Demar....yeah it's not easy to sign a superstar in free agency...it's almost always done via trade.

If the team is a winning team the stars will stay...if the team is average or bad like in the VC or Bosh era they will leave...and this isn't exclusive to us...it's literally every team! Why do you think CP3 left New Orleans, why did AD leave New Orleans, why did PG13 leave Indiana? Why did Butler leave Chicago? Why did Aldridge leave Portland? Stars can leave any franchise if they aren't happy with the team production level.

[TheGeneral99]

Absolutely the f*ck not.

How you leave a team - if a player does leave said team i.e. Hakeem over the Rockets lowballing him in free agency, hence how he became a Raptor or Ewing being a part of that botched Magic trade - matters. Vince's exit has arguably never been topped in terms of the sheer pettiness and ugliness on display. That's not something your status in Canadian basketball - aka. not Raptors basketball but basketball in the country the Raptors play which is an important distinction - or in "saving the franchise" which is a title that's often espoused but doesn't align with ticket sales for the Raptors, can salvage. It certainly doesn't warrant his jersey being retired, let alone before DeMar, Lowry and, to be blunt, Siakam.

I think Dwight and Harden both had pretty bad/comaprable exits as well, but the difference is both Dwight and Harden accomplished way more with their franchises.

Dwight was a 4 time DPOY, was 1st team all NBA multiple times, led the Magic to the finals in 2009, and had deep playoff runs every year.

Harden was a multiple 1st team all NBA player, MVP, runner up in MVP voting multiple times, and led the Rockets deep in the playoffs almost every year including multiple WCF appearances.

Vince led the Raptors to the playoffs twice, and made it to the 2nd round once. He never made 1st team all NBA, never led the franchise to 50 wins, was injured a lot in his last 3 years here, and left very unprofessionally.

I don't think Vince's accomplishments outweigh his unprofessionalism whereas I think guys like Dwight and Harden accomplished a hell of a lot more in their franchises despite ugly exits.

[Steelo Green]

Vince sold the franchise down the river. Say what you want about his issues with Babcock, Peddie, Smitch, et al, after 6 years and what was the city making you their superstar and that did nothing to deserve that way he treated us those last couple years and then saying he didn't try as hard as he could (15 PPG speaks for itself), you deserve what you get.

He could end up in the hall of fame, but him and his attitude (my mom deserves a parking spot!) deserve no name in the rafters.

He gave up on the team, he gave other teams plays, I could go on and on. There are ways to leave, and then there's how Vince did it. No apology and blaming others in his documentary. If he admitted his faults, said he was young and made mistakes, then sure, but he didn't.

I'm sure a lot here remember how Vince left and are fine with no recognition.

[___Rand___]

I'll be fine with retiring his number when VC is 85 and all of this is a distant memory.