Vince Carter is most known for his 2000 Slam Dunk Contest Title and lengthy career, but his NBA totals are often overlooked. The small forward is less than 500 points away from 25,000 for his career and currently has the third most points all-time among active players.
Born in Daytona Beach, Florida, VC was named an All-American at Mainland High School as he led them to their first state title in 56 years.
Playing three years for The University of North Carolina, the future Hall-of-Famer helped win back-to-back ACC Championships and appeared in consecutive Final Fours. Before declaring for the 1998 NBA Draft, Vinsanity averaged 15.6 points per game and earned First-Team All-ACC and second-team All-American honors.
One player who definitely won’t remember Carter getting drafted is Kings rookie Harry Giles. When the Tarheel was selected with the No.5 overall pick by the Warriors in 1998 (traded to the Raptors), the first-year forward was just two months old.
Vince Carter won the ROY award in 1999, led the Raptors to their first franchise playoff appearance in 2000 and set a career high with 27.6 points per game in 2001. Over 7 seasons in Toronto, the 40-year-old was named to 5 All-Star teams, 2 All-NBA teams and is the franchise’s leader in points per game (23.4).
After Carter was traded to the Nets in 2004, the athletic guard continued to produce. Over his career with in New Jersey, the veteran only missed 11 games in four seasons and is in the top-10 of 19 different statistical categories. Over his first 15 seasons, VC would go on to average more than 20 points per game in 13 of those campaigns.
Carter would spend the next two seasons with the Magic and Suns respectively. In 2011 while playing in Phoenix, Carter scored his 20,000-career point.
Spending his next three seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, he climbed the all-time three-pointers-made list surpassing 1,700 makes. He currently sits in a three-way tie with Jamal Crawford and Kyle Korver for the No. 5 spot – all of which have made 2,049.
Most recently playing with the Grizzlies for last three seasons, the 40-year-old vet has moved into the top 25 in scoring all-time (24,555 points – 22nd overall). Last season he was also awarded the Teammate of the Year award.