A long-time employee of the Raptors, someone who knows a thing about the history of the franchise and its growth, was discussing Vince Carter and the reception he might get during Wednesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The team plans one of the many video tributes they are paying to icons of the past to help celebrate its 20th anniversary and no one is iconic as Carter, who will be honoured during a first-quarter timeout.
Guessing the reaction is difficult because there are those who will not let go of a decade-long anger at Carter and how vociferous they will be can’t be told.
But there is a greater context that should be taken into consideration.
“Never mind what happened with him 10 years ago,” was the gist of the point the high-ranking team staff member made. “They should cheer him for what he did for basketball in Canada.”
“He’s done a lot not just for us for a team, but just for this country,” former Raptor Alvin Williams said earlier this season during his official 20th anniversary appearance at a game.
“You see the Canadian players now that are in the NBA and they’re all a testament to him. That shows what he does, not only for the Raptors, but what he did for this whole country.”
That should be enough of a legacy to guarantee a high level of appreciation for what he meant to the game in Canada and to the Raptors.
For players, though, the respect has always been there. Raptors wings DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross grew up idolizing Carter. Ross still watches his highlights, and said playing against him is like a dream. DeRozan said it was “dope” to see him honored.
"It's almost like a dream. You see Vince and his Raptors highlights. When you see him lined up on the other side it's something you only dream about." - Terrence Ross on playing against Vince Carter
“He deserved it,” DeRozan said. “He deserves everything, honestly, because he was the one who, I think, pioneered the whole thing with the Toronto Raptors. So you gotta give him his credit [for] everything he brought to this city. He made me a fan at an early age.”
Grizzlies guard Mike Conley had never seen anything like it. He said it was fantastic to share that with Carter, to see his emotion and congratulate him on his career.
“I told him, ‘Man, it's a pleasure,'” Conley said. “It's a pleasure to play with him. To see the imprint that he's left wherever he's been, it's always been positive. You can't knock the person that he is, and he's an even better player. So I was happy to see the fans be so receptive.”
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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8HxLitMSB8[/youtube]
