Of the 13 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees for the Class of 2024, Vince Carter is the most popular.
With his unparalleled exploits above the rim, the eight-time All-Star gripped the minds of NBA fans for two decades. Carter is also considered the most influential player in Toronto Raptors history, helping usher in an age of Canadian hoops that’s generated stars like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray. That said, when he’s enshrined into the Hall of Fame, expect plenty of pageantry.
Vince Carter Makes Surprise Hall of Fame Announcement
While making an appearance on Run It Back, Carter revealed that he’s asked multiple people to induct him into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
The ceremony (Oct. 12-13) usually sees inductee make a speech during their enshrinement. However, those who share an intimate relationship with the inductee are also given an opportunity to speak. These are the best moments of their enshrinement, for both them and their fans. Not only are they receiving their flowers for their body of work, someone close to them is expressing their appreciation or admiration of them.
“I’m not going to reveal all of the people because I’m still waiting for a ‘yes.’ I don’t want to be like, ‘Yeah, such and such is going to be there’ and we get there, they not there,” Carter jokes.
“But I can confirm T-Mac will be there, he’s one of the guys that I asked, and he was like ‘Hell yeah, I was waiting for you to call me!’.”
.@MichelleDBeadle: “Do you choose who inducts you?”@mrvincecarter15: Yes you do choose…I can confirm T-Mac [Tracy McGrady] will be there, he’s one of the guys that I asked, and he was like ‘Hell yeah, I was waiting for you to call me!’.”@Tmac_213 👏 pic.twitter.com/u3izcHmZrv
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) May 9, 2024
“It seems like in his mind, he already had it in his mind that he’s going to be up there,” Carter says of his cousin and fellow NBA alumnus. “So that’s one and I think he’ll help me through it. We’ve had some conversation.”
Carter and Tracy McGrady played together for just two seasons, going 68-54 in that time. They both got their start with the Raptors. Where Carter was drafted fifth overall in 1998, McGrady was drafted ninth overall the year prior. However, with the Florida native looking for a new home, McGrady left Toronto for the Orlando Magic in 2000.
Who Else Will Be There?
“There’s a couple others that I have in mind but there’s one for sure that I’m going to ask,” Carter reveals. “So I’m going to wait for sure before I throw his name out.”
Looking back at Carter’s career, he may be talking about Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd. A former star who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2018, Kidd was Carter’s teammate for four seasons. Though the two didn’t play together for particularly long, they were successful. In fact, they reached the playoffs every season that they played together.
The duo also played together in the 2000 Summer Olympics, as Team USA won the gold medal. One of Carter’s most memorable highlights took place during that tournament, with the high-flyer dunking over 7-foot-2 center Frederic Weiss.
Many consider this to be the greatest dunk of all-time.
