Vince Carter Talks Importance of Raptors Honoring Him First

Vince Carter says he told the Brooklyn Nets he wanted the Toronto Raptors to have an opportunity to retire his jersey first this season

Jan 19, 2005; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New Jersey Nets forward Vince Carter (15) in action against the Milwaukee Bucks at Continental Airlines Arena. Credit: Lou Capozzola-USA TODAY NETWORK / Lou Capozzola-Imagn Images

Vince Carter wanted to respect the Toronto Raptors.

It was an honor, he said, when the Brooklyn Nets informed him of their plans to retire his No. 15 this season. It's one thing to be a Basketball Hall of Famer but to be honored by a city with a jersey retirement is something truly special.

And yet, Carter didn't want the Nets to do it immediately. At the very least, he wanted to give the Raptors an opportunity to do the same and be the first organization to raise his jersey into the rafters if Toronto chose so.

"Whether it happened or not, I wanted to respectfully give them the opportunity, because, yes, great things happened in New Jersey, but this is where it started first," Carter said Friday as Toronto officially announced its plans to retire his No. 15 at Scotiabank Arena.

In talks with the Nets, Carter said he told Brooklyn he didn't want their ceremony to be on opening night. He didn't know if Toronto would honor him the same way, but he wanted to give the Raptors a chance.

Within the Raptors organization, high-ranking officials reportedly wanted to wait to honor Carter, per TSN's Josh Lewenberg. Some felt Kyle Lowry should be the first to have his jersey honored with Carter eventually coming second.

"They’ll all come. They’ve got to stop playing first," Raptors president Masai Ujiri said of potential honors for Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. "All of those guys are legends here and they are all well appreciated in this city, in this country, and in the organization."

For the Raptors, the honor is set for Nov. 2 when DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings come to town. Two months later, Brooklyn will do the same, honoring Carter on Jan. 25 against the Miami Heat.