Vince Carter lost to the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, but he notched a victory over Father Time.
During Atlanta’s 135-121 overtime loss, Carter took the floor in his 1,500th NBA game, becoming just the fifth player in league history to play in that many games.
When he entered the game in the fourth quarter, the 42-year-old joined a club that only includes Robert Parish (1,611 games), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560), Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) and John Stockton (1,504).
H15TORY is made! 1⃣5⃣0⃣0⃣ games for VC🙌 pic.twitter.com/R1quw67E71
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) December 11, 2019
An eight-time All-Star, Carter began his career in 1999 and is in his 22nd season in the NBA.
When he first took the floor for the Raptors as a rookie, several of his current teammates including Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Bruno Fernando were less than a year old.
Over the course of his career, Carter has gone from being one of the most dynamic players in the league to essentially the last man at the end of the bench.
“Basically, he was the first option, second option, third option, sixth man, seventh man, all the way down to 14th, 15th guy and most guys are not emotionally stable enough to be able handle that and be willing to sacrifice and Vince has done that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game.
In 18 games this season, Carter is averaging 5.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and an assist per game.
Carter is expected to retire after this season but, when it comes to him, you never know.
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