Vince Carter Drills Three in Perhaps His Final NBA Game

In Thursday’s Hot Clicks: The coronavirus’s impact on American sports escalated quickly.

Is that it for Vince Carter?

The question on everyone’s mind right now is when (or if) the NBA season will resume. The question is perhaps most meaningful for Vince Carter. 

Carter, 43, is in his 22nd season in the NBA and the shocking announcement that the coronavirus had forced the NBA to suspend play may have ended that season. 

As the clock crept toward zero in the Hawks’ game against the Knicks, the fans in Atlanta were well aware of the possibility that they could be the final seconds of Carter’s career. They started chanting “we want Vince” and (with a few pushes from his teammates) Carter entered the game. 

What did VC do? Drain a three from the top of the key. 

After the final buzzer, several Knicks players exchanged hugs with Carter.

The potential gravity of the moment was not lost on Carter. In his (CDC-recommended) press conference after the game, he got choked up when discussing the possibility that those were his final seconds as an NBA player. 

Vince Carter almost brought to tears reflecting on what could be his last NBA game:

"I'm appreciative... it's cool... the game's been good"

(via @HawksOnFSSE)pic.twitter.com/lRQCRGGWZI

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) March 12, 2020

If you watch the full press conference, you can get an idea of just how difficult this is for Carter. Not difficult in the sense that he’s overcome with emotion, just difficult in how uncertain everything is.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, league officials do expect the season to resume at some point but that obviously isn’t a given and it would be foolish for players like Carter to assume that. 

Vince Carter is an NBA legend. He was never the best player in the league—in fact, he only made two All-NBA teams—but his longevity makes him an all-time great. He deserves a better send-off than a sudden cancellation of games caused by a global health crisis. But if this is the end, it’s fitting that his final career basket was a jumper. Sure, the highlight reel dunks made him famous but his ability to reinvent himself kept him in the NBA until the age of 43. 

The NBA is the first domino to fall

The NBA season is officially on hold after Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. I hope I’m wrong but I doubt it will be the last league in North America to postpone action for a period of time over this crisis.

The league had no choice after Gobert tested positive. There’s no telling how many people he could have infected before he realized he had contracted the disease. 

The most shocking part is how nonchalantly Gobert treated the ongoing pandemic just a few days ago. On Monday, he jokingly touched every reporter’s recording device in the media room. 

So...here is Rudy touching all the mics following Mondays shoot around that has some people concerned... #TakeNote #utahjazz #CoronaVirus pic.twitter.com/dr4auECTr4

— Dave Fox (@Davefox2) March 12, 2020

Maybe it was one of those recorders that made him sick. Or maybe he passed to a dozen more people with that little joke. It’s impossible to tell, and that’s what makes it so scary.

The fallout was felt immediately. Players from both teams had to be tested for the virus at the arena and remain there for hours. Gobert’s Utah teammates weren’t allowed to leave the arena until after 1 a.m. local time. The Kings-Pelicans game was called off after it was discovered a referee who worked a Jazz game recently was scheduled to work that game. It was one of the most hectic nights in NBA history and it’s only the beginning. 

The best of SI

We’re tracking every sporting event around the world impacted by the coronavirus. ... Chris Mannix argues that the NBA had no choice but to suspend the season. ... Inside the NCAA’s decision to ban fan’s from March Madness. ... A settlement between U.S. Soccer and the women’s national team seems less likely after this week’s demeaning court filing.

Around the sports world

Five NBA teams who played against the Jazz recently have reportedly been told to self quarantine. ... Former NHL player Jason Pominville is playing in a men’s league in Buffalo and just tearing it up.

It’s always a good idea to do the opposite of whatever the Knicks want to do

Several teams were willing to put the games on hiatus, but the rest wanted to move toward eliminating fans from arenas to continue playing games, sources tell ESPN. One team wanted to keep status quo until a governmental/public mandate dictated change: The New York Knicks.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 12, 2020

Mark Cuban’s reaction...

Really weird to see this

I've never seen news posted ABOVE the ESPN score box and TBH i did not even know that was part of their gfx package. it's eerie pic.twitter.com/pN24f8q471

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 12, 2020

Klopp isn’t messing around

Jurgen Klopp before today's #UCL match: Coronavirus-aware. "Put your hands away..." 😂

(via @brfootball) https://t.co/5cUXfyWYWW

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) March 11, 2020

Fred Hoiberg on the other hand...

Fred Hoiberg who is coaching the game while fighting an illness just left the court with several minutes remaining in the game. Hope he’s ok. pic.twitter.com/hBwjl9dQ31

— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) March 12, 2020

Fred Hoiberg who is coaching the game while fighting an illness just left the court with several minutes remaining in the game. Hope he’s ok. pic.twitter.com/hBwjl9dQ31

— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) March 12, 2020

Pretty good

Here's our @nydnsports back page. @marchmadness #NCAA #MarchMadness @APSE_sportmedia https://t.co/w8hlVicGL6 pic.twitter.com/5RoV9bZwSH

— Back Page Guy NYDN (@BackPageGuyNYDN) March 11, 2020

The USWNT made its thoughts on U.S. Soccer clear

Looking at ISI Photos and saw that #USWNT players have all taken the field wearing their warm-up jerseys inside out, hiding the U.S. Soccer crest... but not the four stars.

Yeah, that feels intentional.

📸 Brad Smith/ISI pic.twitter.com/rGEiYghZfb

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) March 11, 2020

Unity. 4 stars only. Who's with us? pic.twitter.com/AYv2YlcSl7

— USWNT Players (@USWNTPlayers) March 12, 2020

Basketball is going to be very squeaky

Hey, here’s a video I took at a Nets G-League game in 2017. It was the G-League team’s first year and they hadn’t figured out a stadium situation yet so they played in the afternoon before NBA Nets night games in an empty stadium so Nets execs could watch in person. pic.twitter.com/gifmAqFvxC

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) March 11, 2020

This guy found a scouting report from 1996 (with a report on Mike Mussina!) inside a windbreaker he bought online

Athletes are just like us

“I shit my pants.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo on how nervous he was before he did his MRI on Saturday.

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) March 11, 2020

Nice gesture

Lovely gesture from Atalanta fans 💙 pic.twitter.com/prT2Px0IEg

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 11, 2020

This is a cool wrinkle for a broadcast

And here is what a basketball broadcast with spidercam looks like. pic.twitter.com/THfPqOaFkt

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 11, 2020

Not sports

A coronavirus conference scheduled for this week in New York was canceled because of the coronavirus. ... This article about how soap works is way more interesting than I expected.

Bested by a garbage can

I chuckled heartily

I love British humour pic.twitter.com/aBYvLDV3lD

— ♡ (@gujonpyo) March 9, 2020

A good song

Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.