Toronto Raptors: How Vince Carter Inspired a Generation

Never mind just the Toronto Raptors. Vince Carter saved basketball in Canada. With all due respect to Steve Nash and what he has accomplished over his playing career, he was not the original face of Canadian basketball.

The guy who really gave this sport a fighting chance in this country would be this man:

Jed Jacobsohnn/Getty Images

In 1999, the Vancouver Grizzlies franchise had all but squandered a golden opportunity to expand the NBA’s influence north of the border on the west coast north. Half-filled arenas and poor money management, coupled with losing season after losing season, spelled the end of the NBA’s six year experiment in Vancouver. The team moved south to Memphis in 2002, leaving the Raptors as the only team left in Canada.

Although the Raptors were financially stable and about to enjoy the confines of a brand new arena at the heart of downtown, all was not golden. The Raptors had found themselves in a similar downward spiral of crappy teams and a revolving door of coaches and management, with no real end in sight.

Then, general manager Glen Grunwald made a trade on draft night 1998 that saw the Raptors fourth overall pick Antawn Jamison head to Golden State for fifth overall pick Carter. In doing so, the course of Canadian basketball was altered forever.

We all know the story of what happened next so I won’t bore you with the details. All you need to know is that in the four-year span between Vince’s acquisition and the Raptors first round exit to the Detroit Pistons in 2002, the Raptors franchise:

Set attendance records for three consecutive seasons.
Saw the value of the franchise go from $125 million to $217 million by 2002.
Set franchise records in wins, and make the playoffs three of the four seasons.

Vince left in 2004, but his mark remained. From the basketball courts in Rexdale and Pickering,wearing jerseys bearing his “VC” logo, brought disdain from loyal Raptors fans.

However, to a visible minority during his time here, Vince Carter was a hero and role model in a city that had been previously dominated for generations during the winter months, by unrecognizable faces that played a sport you had little to no connection to.

Probably the most prolific photo in Toronto Raptors history, whether you like it or not. (Getty Images)

People in this city can say what they like about Vince – how he left, what was said, what wasn’t said. But the fact that people still even talk about his departure, a decade and two division titles later, says more than any arguments the naysayers may make.

Steve Nash was amazing. He won awards and is going to be the first ever Canadian inducted to the hall of fame since Dr. James Naismith himself. But I ask you, look around the landscape of Toronto, and the Canadian NBA class of this generation, and to the haters I say wake up.

I have had the privilege to play and speak with a lot of these young men and women that are now in the pros and national programs, and every time I talk about inspirations with them, Carter is never left out of the conversation.