At 43 years old, Vince Carter has been playing basketball before a ton of his teammates were even born. With the future Hall of Famer set to retire at season’s end, and the Hawks all but eliminated from playoff contention, he only has 19 career games remaining. However, he moved up the record book perhaps for the last time on Monday evening in a disappointing loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Carter made his 2,283rd career NBA 3-pointer, passing Jason Terry for the sixth-most all-time, who played in Atlanta for five seasons. There is little room for Carter to move up this list, however. Ray Allen has the all-time record at 2,973 career 3-pointers, followed by Reggie Miller with 2,560. With Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver, and James Harden ahead of him and still active, this is likely as high as Carter will ever be on the list.
This is a testament to how much the game has changed during Carter’s career. Teams heave the long ball like no other, and James Harden and Stephen Curry are still just 30 and 31, respectively. Carter was always a great shooter, but as father time caught up with him, he was able to develop into more of a 3-point specialist, extending his career for a long time.
When speaking to Carter during the preseason, he said, “You can ask me 100 times throughout the year, it won’t really hit as the last ‘whatever’ until the end of the year.” He added, “After the All-Star Break, it flies by”.
One has to wonder what is going through Carter’s head as his long career winds down, but one thing is for sure: it has been an absolute pleasure to watch.
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