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As most fans of the Brooklyn Nets know by now, Vince Carter’s jersey will be retired at some point during the 2024-25 season. While many have wondered for a long time whether Carter’s jersey was going to be retired at all, what didn’t take long was Carter’s impact on a current NBA player just trying to keep going.
“One piece of advice I got from Vince Carter was not to put a number on it, man. Go until you can’t,” Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley said of Vince Carter to Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Conley spoke to Spears during Minnesota’s Western Conference Finals series against the Dallas Mavericks after the Timberwolves won Game 4 to bring their series deficit to 1-3.
“And obviously, I’d like to achieve certain milestones. You want to get to 20 (seasons). If you’re this close, why not? But at the same time, you just try to get as many as you can,” Conley said. Like Conley, Carter felt the same way about his career and has recently spoken about how Kobe Bryant helped him come to grips with retirement while in his final years in the league.
Granted, what Carter did for Conley was convince him to keep playing until he can’t anymore, it still highlights the impact that Carter had on the NBA and that impact is still felt by players in the league right now. Carter played 22 years in the NBA, including roughly five seasons for the Nets when they were in New Jersey, as he had the same wish that Conley has right now.
For someone as great as Carter was during his playing days in the league, he will also be remembered for the things that he provided outside of his play. In fact, he even imparted his wisdom on some member of the Nets earlier this season as he still carries the respect of one of the basketball greats.