Vince Carter among 2024 Hall of Fame finalists after 75th Anniversary Team snub
NBANBA great Vince Carter will have a shot to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame this Summer after controversially getting left off of the league’s 75th Anniversary Team.
Former Toronto Raptors legend Vince Carter has been named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
The eight-time All-Star, best known for his unparalleled dunking ability, is one step away from making it to Springfield, MA. Carter’s prolific scoring and remarkable clutch factor will soon get the same recognition as his sheer athletic talent.
Deserving of such recognition, Carter’s Hall of Fame candidacy comes at as good a time as ever shortly after the NBA’s controversial decision to leave him off of the 75th Anniversary Team back in 2021.
Exploring Carter’s all-time great resume
Over the course of his 22-year NBA career, Carter reached many milestones that have made his name synonymous with greatness.
Carter entered the league with a bang, garnering 1999 Rookie of the Year honors. From 2000-07, Carter was a fixture in the All-Star game, leading the Raptors and later the New Jersey Nets alongside Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson to notable runs in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Individually, Carter ranks No. 9 on the all-time three-pointers made list with 2,290 treys in his career. Carter made a name for himself as a late-game performer, dialing in an NBA-record five buzzer-beater threes in his professional tenure, per StatMamba:
As a testament to his longevity, Carter trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish for most regular season games played (1,541).
His durable superstar counterparts graced the NBA’s 50th Anniversary team back in 1996, making them automatic shoo-ins for the 75th Anniversary Team that came during the 2021 All-Star game. Carter was one of the biggest snubs left off of the prestigious ensemble of greats.
Seeing that the 75 stars named were all deserving, there’s no precedent for debating Carter’s entry over one selected before him. Though, the four-time All-NBA honoree was more than just a dunker extraordinaire.
Yet and still, his timeless 2000 Dunk Contest performance, as well as other household posters over Germany’s Frederic Weiss in the same year’s Summer Olympics, as well as over Alonzo Mourning in 2005 live in the hearts of basketball enthusiasts to this day.
Carter joins 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups (Detroit Pistons) and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Michael Cooper (Los Angeles Lakers) as finalists.