There’s a reason Toronto Raptors fans used to go out of their way to boo NBA legend Vince Carter.
This dates back to the 2003 NBA Draft when the Raptors decided to bring Chris Bosh to Canada.
The Raptors had just made the playoffs the year before, in 2002, but dropped to 3rd worst in the association, mostly because of the plague of injuries that infected the team.
Vince Carter, seeing the core of the team that made it to the second round of the playoffs was still there, wanted to win-now, and trade the 4th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft for a veteran player.
The Raptors GM went the other direction, much to Carter’s chagrin.
At the time, Carter had made three straight all-star teams and was widely considered to be a top-notch player, and someone to build a championship team around.
But after the draft, Carter started to reveal his disapproval regarding the direction the team was taking. After all, this was the same team that almost beat the ’01 76ers in the playoffs. That 76ers team ended up going all the way to the NBA Finals.
He continued to show his contempt for the front office throughout the 2003-04 season, and well into the 2004-05 season.
It was then that one of the most prolific dunkers of all time admitted: “I don’t want to dunk anymore.”
Now, I’m no physical freak of nature, but I have been able to throw down a couple of dunks in shootaround. I can never imagine it getting old, especially for someone like Vince, who had been magnificently jamming dunks home for years, including his victory in the 2000 Dunk Contest.
Carter was never too keen on Toronto, or Canada from the moment he was traded there, and that affected how he dealt with his problems concerning the Raptors struggling organization and its team.
He was finally traded 20 games into the 2004-05 season, and in the 20 games beforehand, he averaged 15 points per game, shot 41% from the field and 32% from three, all current career lows. But after he was traded to the Nets, he put up 27.5 points per game, shot 46% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc in 57 games.
Vince Carter let his issues with the Raptors front office, and his problems with Toronto and Canada, get in the way of a potential super team centered around him and Chris Bosh.
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