The Atlanta Hawks will be left on the outside looking in according to how the NBA intends to resume the season. That means the career of Vince Carter will come to an unceremonious and unfulfilling end.
Recognizing as much, Carter’s teammate Trae Young took to Twitter to pay tribute to the NBA icon with a heartfelt message.
Never wanted this day to come OG… 22 years playing at high level at the highest level is mind blowing… but you did it fam , All the Memories & Locker room talks will be with me forever !! THANK YOU @mrvincecarter15 #Vinsanity pic.twitter.com/CzCpZoa227
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) June 3, 2020
Young returned to Twitter a short time later to joke about how it makes him proud that he was behind Carter’s final basket.
Oh also…. nobody in this world can say they gave Vince Carter his last bucket besides me so there’s that https://t.co/Qd1UFkzC34
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) June 3, 2020
And here’s that remarkable play involving Young, one that will close out Carter’s 22-season career in a wonderfully fitting manner.
With the NBA season suspended until further notice, Vince Carter checks in and drills a three in the final seconds. pic.twitter.com/XLW1t7uIjW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 12, 2020
News arrived Wednesday that NBA commissioner Adam Silver intends to propose that the conclusion of the 2019-20 season will feature a 22-team field play-in tournament for the postseason’s final seeds in each conference and a 16-team playoff.
The Hawks posted a 20-47 record when play was halted, meaning the team would be left out of the season’s resumption as proposed.
Carter insists he has no regrets over how his playing time in the NBA will end without a title. What was more important to Carter was the relationships he cultivated with his many teammates over two-plus decades.
Given Young’s tweeted tribute Wednesday and what he had to say about Carter last month, Vinsanity’s legacy is unquestionably assured in that regard. What’s more, Carter has big goals for the next chapter in his life now that his playing career is over, and those plans suggest we haven’t seen the last of the NBA legend.
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