Former Mavs Fan Favorite Vince Carter Announces Retirement

Former Dallas Mavericks wing Vince Carter, who became one of the most beloved members in team history during his three years with the team, announced his retirement on Thursday.

DALLAS - The legend of Vince Carter was largely built on his time with his first team, the Toronto Raptors. But Carter - who on Thursday announced his retirement from the NBA - spent enough time in Dallas to offer up some Mavericks thrills as well.

Carter, the eight-time All-Star who spent three seasons with the Mavericks announced the decision on the Ringers 'Winging It' Podcast.

"I'm officially done playing basketball professionally," Carter said. "It's tough since near the end of March, I've felt it's pretty much over. I was able to put the abrupt ending aside for the bigger picture."

Carter, 43, finished his 22nd season in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks in a career that began with him being selected in the same 1998 NBA Draft class as Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki and ended with him playing alongside players like Trae Young who were born that same year. 

"Making my last shot helped the situation," Carter said to the podcast. "I'd have been itching to at least play one minute and make one shot. As a player playing your last game, whether you know it or not, you always want to say 'Well, at least I made my last shot of my career,' and I can actually say that so I'm happy."

For his career, Carter played in 1,541 games for eight different teams, averaging 16.7 points and 4.3 rebounds on 46-percent from the field. Carter also ends his career at 19th on the All-Time NBA career list, with 25,728 career points.

During his time in Dallas, which spanned from the 2011-12 to 2013-14 seasons, Carter was an integral figure in the team's success, playing in 221 games and averaging 12 points on 44-percent shooting, including 39-percent from three-point range. 

"Loved, loved, loved VC," Mavs owner Mark Cuban told Dallasbasketball.com. "As a human. As a player. As a leader. And of course, his shot against the Spurs was top 10 in Mavs history. Hopefully, he will have an equally HOF career in broadcasting. He is good at that too."

Carter also hit one of the biggest shots in team history, when he nailed a game-winning three from the corner over Manu Ginobili in game three of the 2014 playoffs, a series in which the eighth-seeded Mavs pushed the first-seeded Spurs to seven games. 

Carter, who was once considered as arguably a top-three player during his prime years, is also one of the most beloved players to have ever played the game. Not just with the Mavericks, but throughout all of the NBA.