Carter reached out to Lowry, DeRozan during playoff run

Vince Carter is no longer a member of the Toronto Raptors, but the 39-year-old hasn't forgotten about the team he began his career with.

Carter reached out to the Raptors' All-Star backcourt of Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan during this year's playoff run - a stretch that saw Toronto reach their first Eastern Conference Finals in franchise history.

"It was awesome," Carter told reporters Wednesday. "I'm not really big on doing the whole reaching-out-through-social-media, so-everybody-sees-it type thing. It's just not my thing. You know, we talked. I just told them, I was like, 'You guys are the best' and they should hold their head up high. Because not only did they make history, they actually changed a lot of minds of a lot of people."

While Carter was never teammates with either player, the Raptors hold a special place in his heart. He spent the first six-plus seasons of his career in Toronto, before being traded to the New Jersey Nets during the 2004-05 season.

Carter was part of a number of firsts with the team, leading the Raptors to their first postseason appearance in 2000 and their first playoff series win in 2001.

"It was great to see it, and to know at one point I was part of that and to see your record go down, I mean, all records are broken at some point," Carter added. "We're seeing a lot of history this year throughout the NBA, and it's great to see, because that's why we play this game."