Vince Carter officially announces his retirement

After 22 years in the NBA, Vince Carter officially announced this morning that he would be retiring from the league. The eight-time All-Star made the announcement on "Winging It," his podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network.

"I'm officially done playing basketball professionally," Carter said.

The announcement is not a surprise, as Carter had been open about the fact that the 2019-20 season would be his last. And when the Atlanta Hawks were not invited to Orlando for the resumed season, it meant that Carter had officially played his last game.

Carter had one of the most fascinating and prolific careers in NBA history. After being drafted fifth by the Toronto Raptors in 1998, Carter immediately became a star in the league, winning Rookie of the Year in 1999. He maintained that success, making eight straight All-Star games from 2000-2007 and winning the dunk contest in 2000.

After leaving the Raptors in 2004, Carter played for the Nets, Magic, Suns, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Kings before finally spending the last two seasons of his career with the Atlanta Hawks, who released a statement following Carter's announcement.

"Over the last two years, Vince Carter has been a committed leader, respected mentor and influential example on the court, in the locker room and in the Atlanta community," the Hawks said in a statement.

Carter averaged 16.7 points per game during his career and is currently 19th all-time on the NBA scoring list. While he never won a championship, that doesn't seem to bother Carter too much, as he has previously said he preferred being a valuable contributor to a team over ring-chasing.