Veteran forward Vince Carter seeks to play for another two years in NBA. He admits his love for the basketball game is always strong as it was before.
The 39-year old veteran forward was selected by Golden State Warriors as the fifth overall pick in the 1998 NBA draft. The Warriors traded him to Toronto Raptors in the same year. After 18 years in the league, he admits that his love for the game is still as strong as before, as reported by NBC Sports.
"Love for the game. Nothing else. I just love to play. It's not out of me yet. When I don't want to play and don't want to put the work in, that's when I step away from the game, but right now I still love it," he says.
This season is his 19th season in the NBA, and Carter is still a solid contributir for his current team Memphis Grizzlies. According to SLAM, he averaged 6.8 points last season in his 13 minutes playing time. He is also still a prolific outside shooter with 34.9 percent three-point attempts and 38.8 percent field goals.
During his early years in the NBA, the 6'6" forward is known for his powerful dunk and his vertical leap. He won the Slam Dunk Contest in the 2000 NBA All-Star Weekend, and earning several nicknames such as "Air Canada" and also "Half-Man, Half-Amazing."
In his 18 seasons in the league, Carter has played for six different teams, namely Toronto Raptors, New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies. In his later years, Carter worked on his outside shooting, making him a more versatile player.
In the US national basketball team, Carter was selected to be the member of the national team several times. He won the gold medal in 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and 2003 FIBA Americas Championship.
One of the most memorable moment in his stint with the US national team was during the game against France in 2000 Olympic Games. Carter jumped over a 7'2" French center Frédéric Weis and dunked his way in. His dunk was so terrifying, that French media dubbed it as "le dunk de la mort" or "the dunk of death."
This time, Carter decided to prolong his career for two more years to make it a 20 year careers. He will start the 2016-2017 season with Memphis Grizzlies in Fedex Stadium, Memphis against Orlando Magic.