What to Know & What to Expect as Raptors Retire Vince Carter's No. 15

Everything to know as the Toronto Raptors get set to retire Vince Carter's No. 15 at halftime Saturday against the Sacramento Kings

Oct 13, 2024; Uncasville, Conn, USA; Class of 2024 inductee Vince Carter speaks during the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement at Symphony Hall Springfield. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Vince Carter is making history.

For the first time in franchise history, the Toronto Raptors are set to retire a jersey and will raise Carter's No. 15 to the rafters on Saturday evening. It's part of the team's year-long celebration to honor Toronto's 30th season in the NBA.

When Will it Happen?

The Raptors are planning to retire Carter's jersey at halftime during a roughly 20-minute-long ceremony in the middle of Saturday's game against the Sacramento Kings. It'll be a slightly longer than usual halftime break for the teams to honor Carter.

Who Will Speak?

Raptors president and vice-chairman Masai Ujiri will speak along with Carter who will be joined by his family and numerous former Raptors players and teammates of Carter. A full list of former players attending the game will be announced during pre-game festivities.

What to Expect

This one is a little complicated.

By and large, there'll be plenty of people there ready to honor Carter and he'll certainly receive a standing ovation when his jersey is raised into the rafters. That said, there are going to be a few fans — maybe more than a few — who still haven't forgiven Carter for how his tenure ended in Toronto. For them, two decades still hasn't changed the way they felt about Carter who they believe quit on the organization and forced his way off the Raptors in what was an infamously disastrous trade for Toronto with the New Jersey Nets. It won't be too surprising if there are some boos during the ceremony, but the applause will likely drown those out.

Based on how emotional Carter got when Toronto announced the organization's decision to retire his jersey, don't be surprised if he gets a little emotional on Saturday too.

Who's Next?

Had Kyle Lowry retired already, there's no question he'd be the first player to have his jersey retired by the organization. The issue, of course, is Lowry keeps going strong and Toronto didn't want to wait any longer to honor Carter. The Raptors consulted Lowry before deciding to honor Carter and with his blessing opted to go ahead with the ceremony.

After Lowry, the question will be how does Toronto honor DeMar DeRozan who will be in town for the ceremony with the Sacramento Kings. DeRozan didn't quite have the impact of Carter nor the career achievements of Lowry, but there'll certainly be discussions about retiring his jersey whenever he steps away from the game.