Vince Carter wasn't 'interested' in chasing ring at end of NBA career

Vince Carter is high on the list of best NBA players to never win a ring and since this was his last year in the league, it looks like he will retire having never won a championship. After all, even if the season does manage to start up again, the Atlanta Hawks are way outside of the playoff picture.

It's natural to wonder if the 43-year-old regrets spending his final seasons with a perennial lottery team firmly in the rebuilding phase, but in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, Carter said the idea of sitting on the bench for a contender just doesn't appeal to him.

"It just wasn't my thing," Carter said when asked about chasing a ring. "It's just something that I wasn't interested in doing. I mean to be a part of a team where I feel like I can help out, and play some minutes, is what I wanted to do. I just wanted to play."

Carter acknowledges that he may have "missed [out] on an opportunity to even be in the NBA Finals" but says that he would have hated having to sit back and watch others play.

"I would be miserable as a player. Just because I love competing. I mean, anybody who watches me play, I can't just sit down and just watch the game."

While his superstar days are behind him, Carter has managed to carve out a nice role for himself during his time in Atlanta. This season, he averaged five points and two rebounds while playing just under 15 minutes per game. And though he may not want to be glorified player-coach, he still has served as a solid mentor to his younger teammates, including Trae Young, who played in his first All-Star Game in February.

The idea of a player needing a ring to secure their legacy is a narrow and reductive narrative that overlooks the careers of superstars like Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson and Patrick Ewing. Plus, even without a ring, Carter still has a pretty phenomenal career to look back on. He was an eight-time All-Star, won Rookie of the Year in 1999 and is still considered by many to be the greatest dunker in NBA history.