RealGM

Recently been watching VC highlights. Sick game, pretty jumper, but he seems... oddly slow-footed? Like he doesn't get as much separation on people as I expected with his athleticism.

I get that highlights are cherrypicked, so maybe I'm just seeing all the clips where he was forced to take some crazy palm shot/floater.

Vince didn't have great handles, but I wouldn't say slow-footed. More controlled when attempting to knife through the defense.

He was more of a swooper if that makes sense. Like a Drexler, like a Dr. J type.

VC was good out of the gates - as in he had a good first step, but his acceleration after it and ability to change direction was pretty average. He was certainly no Kobe or Wade.

Vince was explosive. He had a great first step, but lacked top end speed. His change of direction was average. Like someone mentioned, hes no Kobe or Wade in that regard.

He got up high, and could jump off either foot from anywhere. His body control while in the air might have been the GOAT. IMO Vince was the best leaper in NBA history.

One thing that kind of tickles me about VC is that for a guy mostly known for either absolutely piking on guys twice his size or playing until even Darrell Green told him to retire is that he shot (and hit) a TON of 3s year in and year out that seem to be, if not forgotten, a bit overlooked. that said...

Obviously Vince had top-shelf vertical leaping but in other metrics he was really "only" "very good" athletically. Lateral movement, change of direction, though he generally could get out of the gates really nicely and didn't seem to lack strength IMO, if anything the opposite. Of course this is from a pantheon-relative star NBA wing standpoint I would expect him to look completely superhuman on your average playground, even coasting on defense

Bad deceleration imo made him less agile and shifty. That's what made athletic shooting guards like Jordan Kobe West and Wade so great. They weren't lacking in any category

Vince in New Jersey certainly became more one track. His legs gave out a bit, and he fell in love with the jump shot.

Agility wise it would be unfair to compare him some to other great 2 guards, D Wade for example is a very high bar. Vinces burst came from his jump and upper body strength (square shoulders) he relied on that and I guess for most players that's the trade off you make that impacts lateral quickness and on ball agility.

Agree with everyone else, Vince did not have great speed. A quick first step and incredible leaping ability, but lacked other things!

It was fine. Vince Carter, to me, was more of a "forward" than a "guard." He had amazing bounce, was very flexible and strong and had a good enough first step. But he didn't make those violent cuts like an MJ, Wade, D. Rose, Kobe. That's why, to me, he's not at their level athletically. VC jumped like 6 inches higher than Wade, but wade's strength, speed, acceleration, deceleration and top speed and power were way better. That's why his free throw rates and finishing stats were a lot lower than Wade's.

I agree with OP. Good to see someone bring this up, as this was the second thing I noticed when he hit the scene and inevitably got compared to MJ. The first being that he clearly lacked MJ's competitive drive - which, of course, is an absurdly high bar, but I didn't start the comparison game, I just play it.

Great player, obvs. I have him somewhere around 100th on my list, IIRC. Just outside, probably.