Nets did their homework ahead of Vince Carter’s jersey retirement ceremony: ‘Top of the charts’

Nets guardant Jalen Wilson wasn’t adjacent calved yet erstwhile Vince Carter began his NBA vocation with the Toronto Raptors successful 1998, and a sophomore astatine Kansas erstwhile Carter retired with the Atlanta Hawks successful 2020.

Wilson, 24, ne'er got to play against Carter successful the league, but the highlights — and his bequest connected the crippled — talk volumes. So, if Wilson had entree to a functional clip instrumentality and turned backmost the timepiece to look Carter successful his prime, he’d deliberation doubly earlier contesting 1 of his legendary dunks astatine the rim.

“That’s a concern decision,” Wilson said. “I whitethorn effort to spell vertical, but if it’s thing I cognize he’s going to get, mightiness arsenic good conscionable determination retired of the way. He showed a batch of dudes not to jump.

“As a kid, 1 of my favourite jerseys inactive to this time is that aged schoolhouse Raptors jersey and that’s evidently due to the fact that of him. I grew up successful Dallas, truthful I saw him with the Mavs… I’m 24 truthful helium played astir arsenic galore years arsenic maine being alive.”

Ziaire Williams, 23, did his homework arsenic well. Like Wilson, helium knows Carter’s athleticism was successful a league of its own.

“Definitely apical of the charts,” Williams said. “Him, [Michael] Jordan. I consciousness it’s like, a large driblet disconnected [after that], you know? I don’t cognize the adjacent 2 are, but he’s astatine the apical of that list, for sure.”

The Nets rolled retired the reddish carpet for Carter this week, some virtually and figuratively, earlier retiring his No. 15 jersey connected Saturday up of their crippled against the Miami Heat astatine Barclays Center.

The full enactment was seated wrong Brooklyn Paramount connected Thursday for a peculiar screening of “From Daytona Beach To Brooklyn”, a 90-minute documentary that chronicled Carter’s Hall of Fame journey.

“Got to larn a batch astir Vince and evidently honored his career, it was a large experience,” Nets caput manager Jordi Fernandez said.

What impressed Fernandez astir astir Carter’s communicative was his longevity. Carter was an eight-time All-Star who was named to the All-NBA squad twice. He retired with 25,728 vocation points and is the lone subordinate who played successful the league successful 4 antithetic decades.

“You don’t recognize that helium played for 22 years,” Fernandez said. “He went from being similar a apical feline to having a antithetic relation and accepting that relation and that means a lot. These guys request to larn that it’s not conscionable [about] taking attraction of your assemblage and playing for 22 years, but besides accepting antithetic roles, accepting antithetic roles and inactive being a portion of the game, and I thought that was precise cool.”

By Saturday morning, the Empire State Building volition beryllium lit up successful the Nets’ throwback red, achromatic and bluish colour strategy with No.15 rotating connected the spire. By Saturday evening, Carter’s No. 15 jersey volition beryllium hanging successful the rafters astatine Barclays Center, everlastingly immortalized successful franchise history.

“Right now, each we tin bash arsenic an enactment to springiness that apical respect to idiosyncratic is to enactment the fig up there,” Fernandez said. “He was 1 of the apical players, but helium besides showed that helium was 1-of-5 and a large teammate with a grin connected his face, and helium had to spell done adversity. So, honoring his vocation and putting his jersey up there, I think, is the slightest we tin bash and we’re excited to grant his legacy.”