Jersey retirement serves timely reminder of Carter and Raptors fans at their best

Love, and joy triumphed in one of the most special nights in franchise history

Watching the Toronto Raptors take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night was a bit awkward. There were yellow jerseys everywhere and by the end even “Bronny” chants.

Hardcore fans without significant disposable income have been priced out in the post-championship years as well, the days of the Sprite Zone long gone. Scotiabank Arena has not been a guaranteed sellout like in years past and as ticket sales have taken more of a corporate focus, the atmosphere is not what it used to be.

Saturday night was different.

You could feel the energy in the building right from the get-go. Seeing 15 etched out on opposite ends of the arena as well as a design of Vince Carter putting the ball through his legs in the middle, it was clear we were in for a special night.

Then came Herbie Kuhn introducing Vince Carter. “From North Carolina, a 6-6 guard, Number 15, Hall-of-Famer…” That moment was magical. The eruption from the fans in attendance brought about as much nostalgia as the clips in Carter’s video tribute.

I remember when just “From North Carolina” was enough to bring out the worst in Raptors fans. You couldn’t blame them, either. The manner in which Carter departed left the most bitter of tastes. There’s no way to revisionist history going from averaging 15.9 points with Toronto to 27.5 points for New Jersey in the same season. It took a long time for a lot of Raptors fans to move past that. I can still remember how gut wrenching it felt to see Carter hit that three after Jose Calderon’s missed free throw.

Carter referenced his video tribute on Nov. 19, 2014 being the moment that opened the door to making this jersey retirement possible. Time heals, winning heals more. Personally, seeing Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan take the Raptors to the 2016 Conference Finals did some healing. It helped take some of that “What if” with Carter’s shot in the East semis against Philadelphia away.

2019 was an avalanche of healing moments. The Kawhi bounce shot was almost too good to be true. Who writes these scripts? How was something like that actually real? It happened, and so did the championship. It never happened for Carter in his 22 NBA seasons.

As event after event has transpired leading up to this jersey retirement, I can definitely see why some fans were holding their breath in anticipation of an apology. It’s a pretty small thing that segment of the fan base is asking for, but a gesture that would certainly go a long way. I do think Carter has missed a trick there but he’s indicated over and over that it’s the organization that deserves most of the blame for such an ugly breakup. No one wants an apology for the sake of it.

Genuine is probably the best word to describe Carter’s night. Whether it was when he spoke at the press conference, the tears that flowed throughout almost as if he was trying to compete with the crying Jordan meme, or the assertiveness with which he said the fan base is going up to the rafters along with that No. 15, Carter was absolutely genuine throughout.

When the crowd gave him so much energy upon introduction that he transitioned from tears to primal roars, it felt like I was watching him dunk again. It was that trademark power and grace all over again. Masai Ujiri said it perfectly, Carter taught some of us to fly, and he taught the rest of us to dream we can fly.

I went from being a kid growing up in Dubai caring only about cricket, soccer, and tennis to randomly catching NBA Action’s Top 10 countdown, seeing Carter make multiple appearances and getting hooked to basketball. Now I’ve been a member of the media covering the Raptors for my eighth consecutive season and asking him a question at his jersey retirement press conference. We often think of the Carter Effect on Canada because no country was more impacted by him, but he truly has a global legacy.

We can acknowledge the bad that happened while recognizing the positives significantly outweighed the negatives. The talent that shone during his prime was one of a kind.

Carter won Rookie of the Year and then was being talked about like he was the face of the league, someone who could take the baton from Michael Jordan. Fat Joe and Ashanti had Raptors jerseys with No. 15 in a video, Lil Bow Wow was shouting out Carter sticking his arm in the rim. He led the All-Star game in voting four times, tied with Kobe Bryant and Julius Erving and bettered only by LeBron James and Jordan. The Raptors won a playoff series for the first time and that was followed by his legendary duel with Allen Iverson.

He didn’t just put Toronto on the basketball map. For a stretch of time, Toronto and Canada was the game’s epicentre.

R.J. Barrett can sing his praises for days. Kelly Olynyk attended Carter’s camp as a kid. Jamal Murray won an NBA title not too long ago and said Vince Carter was his inspiration for loving basketball. The Canadian men medaled at the FIBA World Cup a year ago and returned to the Olympics for the first time in 24 years because of these players. Tristan Thompson calls Carter Canada’s Michael Jordan for a reason.

The Raptors fans in attendance seemed to have all those fond memories as the primary focus and gave him all the love they gave him once upon a time. Perhaps his tears were some sort of admittance that he wishes things played out differently. This is real life, though. Things played out the way they did and it was far from a storybook ending during his playing days.

An iconic banner going up to the rafters with the image of him putting the ball through his legs took a long, winding road. Getting to that final destination doesn’t happen without the fans.

Carter got his jersey in the rafters. Raptors fans got it all. Being able to enjoy the best of Vinsanity and then boo the worst of it. Thriving in the We The North era and then watching this team secure its first title. Now, the first ever Raptors jersey is retired as the franchise welcomes a new era and the fans gave the occasion everything they had.

“The memories that have been created for six years, however you view it, go up tonight,” Carter said. “I hope and pray we enjoy our jersey being retired forever, together.”

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P.S.

Due to multiple responsibilities for this game, the takeaways will be ready for you to read on Monday :)