Vince Carter Undecided On Future Beyond 2018/19

Vince Carter will turn 42 years old later this month and has tied an NBA record by playing in the league for 21 seasons. However, he’s still not sure that the 2018/19 campaign will be his last, as he told reporters – including Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link) – on Tuesday.

“We’ll see what happens at the end of the year. I feel good,” Carter said. “I’ll weigh my options when it’s done. I’d like to come back and play.”

Carter said back in August that he was “90-something per cent sure” that this season with the Hawks would be his last, but he goes back and forth frequently and said on Tuesday that he still can’t picture himself saying, “This is it” (Twitter link via Lewenberg). He has continued to be a productive role player in Atlanta so far in 2018/19, averaging 7.3 PPG on .409/.374/.769 shooting in 37 games (17.4 MPG).

There’s also another interesting factor at play here. Currently, Carter is tied with four other longtime NBA players – Robert Parish, Kevin Willis, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki – for career longevity at 21 seasons. If Nowitzki doesn’t return for another season in 2019/20 and Carter does, the former Slam Dunk champion would become the only player in league history to play for 22 seasons.

Setting that record certainly won’t be the only factor Carter considers as he weighs his future, but it sounds like one he’s very aware of, as Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca observes (via Twitter). Doug Smith of The Toronto Star has the full quote from Carter on that record.

“The only thing that would be new to accomplish at this point — obviously winning a championship, that’s obvious — (is) just the longest career,” he said. “I know now that I’m tied with a few guys and it’s something I wasn’t aware of prior to some years back. I didn’t think of that coming in, playing this long anyway.”

Whether Carter decides to retire later this year or spends another season or two in the NBA, it sounds like he’s not necessarily eager to announce his decision well in advance and go through a year-long retirement tour, as Smith relays.

“It’s always cool to be acknowledged and I think it’s fun for me to do it for other guys, and then when I put myself in the same situation I say, ‘Hmm, we’ll see,'” Carter said. “I think, when it happens, more so internally and personally, it’s that you can say goodbye that way. It’s cool and all, but sometimes it’s a little much.”