Raptors to Retire Vince Carter's No. 15 Along With Nets

Toronto and Brooklyn will retire Carter's number as he enters the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Jan 19, 2005; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New Jersey Nets forward Vince Carter (15) on the sideline with coach Lawrence Frank during their game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Continental Airlines Arena. Credit: Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY NETWORK / Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

According to Tim Bontemps and sources of ESPN, the Toronto Raptors will join the Brooklyn Nets in retiring Vince Carter's No. 15 into the rafters. The Raptors will retire Carter's numbers in Scotiabank Arena on Nov. 2, when they take another team that once had Carter, the Atlanta Hawks. The Nets will retire Carter's number on Jan. 25 at the Barclays Center, when they take on the Miami Heat.

The Nets were the first of the two teams to announce their retirement of No. 15, as the organization made it known last week. Carter spent five seasons with the Nets, who played in New Jersey at the time, and averaged 18.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals.

It was with Toronto, however, where Carter peaked and first burst into NBA stardom. Throughout his seven seasons with the expansion franchise, Carter averaged 19.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.3 steals, nearly identical numbers to his stats with the Nets.

With New Jersey, Carter found similar success to that of his time in Toronto. The Nets made the playoffs in three of his five seasons with the team, and made the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2006 and 2007. Carter scored over 700 points in the playoffs and averaged 25.9 points per game in 27 playoff games with New Jersey.

Carter will be most remembered for putting a Canadian NBA franchise on the map and being a catalyst in the influx of basketball talent from up north, however, it's interesting that Brooklyn decided to announce the retirement of Carter's number before Toronto did. Perhaps it helps that the Raptors are doing it before the Nets. Regardless, after Carter broke the hearts of Toronto fans by leaving for New Jersey via trade, it's relieving to see that the organization is showing its forgiveness.

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