Vince Carter was a solid player in college, but he was not the go-to guy in North Carolina, as Antawn Jamison was the top scorer. However, Vince had potential due to his unreal athleticism and solid basketball IQ.
Carter was drafted fifth overall by the Golden State Warriors and got traded for his fellow Tar Heel Jamison to the Toronto Raptors . Since the Canadian team was new to the NBA, they wanted to gamble on a gifted player, and they were proven right as Vince became a superstar with the Raptors.
"All the time, some of the things I do, it wasn't the best moves ever, but when I see it on tape, it's not bad," Carter said about the moves he was doing in a go-to guy role during his rookie season. "This role I've started to take on is to score more and be a go-to guy, which is something I wasn't really used to. It's different now because the coach yells at me to shoot the ball and some of the guys are telling me to shoot the ball when I'm open. I'm starting to understand and accept it."
Carter was not the most assertive player
Vince had all the talent and potential in the world but was not assertive on the court. Richard Jefferson believed Carter was the most gifted player. Still, he was not like Kobe Bryant, who wanted to take every shot and shoulder the responsibility for his team. Carter was more unselfish than most players, which has been a sticking point for Vince.
Gilbert Arenas even said that Vince could have been the greatest player of all time , but he was a "nice" guy. Looking at his first year in the league and how many times the coaches and his teammates told him to shoot the ball, he lacked the necessary selfishness star players usually have.
"He should've been the next one. He had everything, he had the one-of-one Bugatti. You looking at him and 'Oh my god, this is what's coming?' Jumping ability, hands, arms, hang-time, charisma, style," Arenas said . "You've never seen anything like it, but he was a nice guy. So I call him lazy, which is my way of saying he's too nice. He cared."
Related: “It hurt him from the heart” – Michael Jordan was devastated when Charles Oakley got traded by the Bulls
VC learned to embrace the go-to guy role in Toronto
When Carter became more comfortable as Toronto's biggest star, he began to be recognized as a star player. He was dueling with fellow stars like Allen Iverson and Paul Pierce.
Unfortunately, Carter could not lead the Raptors to the NBA Finals, but he became a cultural icon in the city and the rest of Canada. He helped the franchise remain in Toronto and became significant to basketball's growth in Canada.
While Carter did not meet his potential throughout his career, he did have flashes of being one of the best players in the league. Vince proved he had the talent and personality to be a star but was just unlucky to be away from teams that could have competed for a title.
Related: "Every time I talk about it I still get the chills" - Vince Carter gets real on his upcoming Hall of Fame induction
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