Has There Ever Been A Less Worthy Jersey Retirement Than Vince Carter for the Nets?

[dhsilv2]

Honestly I think of Vince as a Net and Raptor about equally when I think about him. So I guess I don't mind or see in that weird.

[Ssj16]

I agree with the OP. When I heard he was getting his jersey retired, I thought it was a head scratcher, to be sure.

[Sofia]

Iguodala about to enter this conversation. Around 80 games started? If he does not win that MVP, this does not happen, right?

I didn’t wanna be the one to say it, but yeah, I was a little surprised how quick that was. Distraction from an underachieving season?

Will be interesting to see if they retire the jersey of a 2 time FMVP

[UcanUwill]

I think it is up to the franchise to decide waht their bar is and what to retire, so I am not judging, but what are your thoughts on Grit and Grind players getting their jerseys retired in Memphis? Overall, cool team, but they never even were real contender, and none of these players were big stars.

Kinda get it with them. That was like the teams identity for almost a decade. Couple of years people ( at least here) would say they could be a dark horse contender. Beat some tough teams in the playoffs and would lose to tough teams in hard fought series almost every year.

I can understand not wanting to let that team era go unacknowledged or appreciated

Yes, I do get it with them, but their main highlight was that single play off series win vs Spurs. I do not really buy them being dark horse contender, it was great team to cheer for, very likable, we wanted to believe, but I just can't buy that a team whose best player is Marc Gasol (or maybe Zach Randolph?) could actually win NBA. League had KD, LeBron, Kawhi, CP3 and other guys in their primes, it was never going to happen.

[Celts17Pride]

Retired NBA jersey's are a silly argument. The organization decides and they can do whatever they want to do as far as retired jerseys.

[foreigngrammar]

Why Are People Writing Like This? It Makes Absolutely No Sense And Hurts The Eyes

Happens to me via Auto correction. And it's a drag to correct it each time. Might be the case here too

[Myth]

Retired NBA jersey's are a silly argument. The organization decides and they can do whatever they want to do as far as retired jerseys.

I agree with you and don’t at the same time. Yes, every team gets to decide and it is arbitrary and will be different from team to team. At the same time, we are still allowed our opinions on what we think is deserving or not.

[Celts17Pride]

Retired NBA jersey's are a silly argument. The organization decides and they can do whatever they want to do as far as retired jerseys.

I agree with you and don’t at the same time. Yes, every team gets to decide and it is arbitrary and will be different from team to team. At the same time, we are still allowed our opinions on what we think is deserving or not.

Agree. Not trying to stop conversations, just pointing out organizations are going to do whatever they want to do.

[ChumboChappati]

He played 4.5 of his 22 seasons with the New Jersey Nets. 374 games total (not including playoffs) of his 1541 career games (not including playoffs), which equates to less than 1/4 of his entire career.

Nets made the playoffs in 3 of the 5 post seasons.
They made it out of the first round 2 times
They made it out of the second round 0 times.
They were SWEPT in the first round 1 time.

He averaged 23.6P/5.7R/4.8A on 44/37/81 shooting splits over his Nets career.

He never played a single game in Brooklyn after their "re-brand". Hell, I was born and raised in the area and remember the trade and went to Nets games when he was on the team and I barely remember him as a Net.

I just can't remember a time when a player had his jersey retired by a team and did fewer or had a less memorable tenure there. It'd be one thing if they had a memorable amount of playoff success, or they were a legendary leader and captain. I don't think Vince Carter was ever even the best player on any of those Nets teams! Toronto makes more sense, as he was this iconic legend who kind of put the Raptors in the spotlight for the first time in their franchise history. The Nets though? Seems so silly!

There might be some tragic player deaths that resulted in jersey retirements like Drazen Petrovic, Bobby Phills or Malik Sealy (that one is still kinda weird to me), but has there been a less deserving jersey retirement from a player than the Nets and Vince Carter?

Stupid post.

[Johnny Bball]

So I'm not the only to question this then. Yeah it's weird.

[Karate Diop]

It is a bit odd given how short his tenure with the team was... It's also why I'm a big fan of having a ring of honor.

Teams should really be more selective with jersey retirements.

But the Heat retiring Jordan's number will always be the worst Jersey retirement (unless the Raptors decide to retire LeBron's number...)

[LascelleL]

Pretty pathetic. Seems like they just did it to be petty towards the Raptors and of course the soft Raptors caved and immediately retired his jersey as well even though he sulked his way out of the city by refusing to dunk, telling the other team the Raptors plays and basically sabotaging them until he was traded.

Wow. Yea i was gonna say that as a Bulls fan, I'm not a big fan of the D Rose jersey retirement (I'm sure I'm in the minority here but as a rule of thumb I feel like there should be a 1 championship minimum for jersey retirings, or maybe like a decade of superstar play like KG in Minnesota if no championship). Rose really only had 1 great season and a few very good seasons. Not enough to warrant a jersey retirement IMO

But he's more worthy than Vince in Toronto that's for damn sure. Rose got at least an ECF appearance and was derailed by legit injuries. Not fake injuries like Vince that magically healed when he got to New Jersey. Vince forced his way out while Rose cried his eyes out when he got the call that he had been traded.

Vince saved the Raptors from leaving Toronto. His impact on Toronto and Canada's basketball scene on a whole is something you can't understand via a box score or just basketball metrics. Vince's impact and legacy on the city of Toronto is HUGE. A lot of the Canadian kids you see in the league today started playing the sport because of VC.

[3ddman23]

Tony Allen with grizzles??? Pretty much all the Memphis retired numbers...

[Effigy]

Pretty pathetic. Seems like they just did it to be petty towards the Raptors and of course the soft Raptors caved and immediately retired his jersey as well even though he sulked his way out of the city by refusing to dunk, telling the other team the Raptors plays and basically sabotaging them until he was traded.

Vince did a lot of reputation repair, but as a fan I soured on him for a while because of that. Going to NBA games was a rare treat growing up and then in college there was a game the Blazers played against the Raptors. I was a huge Vince fan as many were when I got the ticket, but then he started to do the sabotage stuff you described and refused to dunk and put on a show. He finished the game with 4 points and just about the lousiest effort I had ever seen.

So he was the original Jimmy Butler?

[God Squad]

Pretty pathetic. Seems like they just did it to be petty towards the Raptors and of course the soft Raptors caved and immediately retired his jersey as well even though he sulked his way out of the city by refusing to dunk, telling the other team the Raptors plays and basically sabotaging them until he was traded.

Vince did a lot of reputation repair, but as a fan I soured on him for a while because of that. Going to NBA games was a rare treat growing up and then in college there was a game the Blazers played against the Raptors. I was a huge Vince fan as many were when I got the ticket, but then he started to do the sabotage stuff you described and refused to dunk and put on a show. He finished the game with 4 points and just about the lousiest effort I had ever seen.

So he was the original Jimmy Butler?

100%. There was half the fanbase that "didn't" want his jersey retired for these exact reasons. Then you have the other half who acknowledges his faults but understands what he did for the Raptors and the popularity of basketball in Canada.

[bubonicphoniks]

Maybe it's just nostalgia but I started watching NBA with those Vince teams in New Jersey late at night with the volume on low so my mom wouldn't know I was up late.

I just kinda think it works. A legendary player spent a lot of his prime in NJ he played hard for them despite the reputation. He is actually the Nets 3rd leading scorer although he was only there 4.5 years.

Vince is just so beloved and I think the argument is very solid against retiring it, I'm glad they did.

It's Vince.

[Kingdibs19]

Pretty pathetic. Seems like they just did it to be petty towards the Raptors and of course the soft Raptors caved and immediately retired his jersey as well even though he sulked his way out of the city by refusing to dunk, telling the other team the Raptors plays and basically sabotaging them until he was traded.

Wow. Yea i was gonna say that as a Bulls fan, I'm not a big fan of the D Rose jersey retirement (I'm sure I'm in the minority here but as a rule of thumb I feel like there should be a 1 championship minimum for jersey retirings, or maybe like a decade of superstar play like KG in Minnesota if no championship). Rose really only had 1 great season and a few very good seasons. Not enough to warrant a jersey retirement IMO

But he's more worthy than Vince in Toronto that's for damn sure. Rose got at least an ECF appearance and was derailed by legit injuries. Not fake injuries like Vince that magically healed when he got to New Jersey. Vince forced his way out while Rose cried his eyes out when he got the call that he had been traded.

Vince saved the Raptors from leaving Toronto.

Toronto always had great attendance. Before and after Vince. Raptors were never in danger of leaving Toronto.

[Birth of the Cool]

Kind of dubious as he didn't have the same cultural and organizational impact as he did with Toronto, but I think it's more the Nets retiring a player that played great for them that is a HOF so as much retiring VC for his HOF career as much if not moreso than his specific time with the Nets.

but also, as of today for the Nets he's
# 3 in points
# 7 in assists
# 6 in triple doubles
# 5 in PPG
# 6 in PER
# 5 in Plus/Minus
# 3 in VOR

but I tend to agree, it wasn't really warranted for his time with the Nets.

[scrabbarista]

I think it is up to the franchise to decide waht their bar is and what to retire, so I am not judging, but what are your thoughts on Grit and Grind players getting their jerseys retired in Memphis? Overall, cool team, but they never even were real contender, and none of these players were big stars.

Gasol and Conley were cornerstones, so I guess I could see it for them. The rest of them dudes, nah.

But I always say this question is unique to each team, and the only ones whose opinions should matter are the actual fans of that team.

[wade44]

I’m with you. Had a few good years there but jeez zero tenure and little playoff success.