Vince Carter at 40: 'I'm still competing'

Vince Carter is still here - one of only 17 players to reach 19 seasons in the NBA. The Memphis Grizzlies veteran celebrated his 40th birthday Thursday, and he doesn't plan on going anywhere any time soon.

“I’m still standing. I’m still competing, playing at this level, doing what I need to do to still be here," Carter told Michael Lee of The Vertical. "I still have a burning desire to compete and be around. I don’t expect anything. I’m going to work for it, like I’ve done my entire career. I’m going to prove that I deserve to play the minutes that I’m playing.

"I’m going to prove to you that I deserve to still be in this league. That’s kind of been my drive. Humbling myself and staying hungry for the opportunity to still be around. That's what it is. I don’t come in like, 'You know what I’ve done? I deserve to be here.' Nah, I don’t see it that way."

Carter keeps his mind and body strong with a game-day program that has him arrive to the arena three hours before tipoff so he can "chase around players, some of whom are now half his age," writes Lee.

The former superstar-turned-sixth man doesn't have a plan to be finished yet, either. It will be when he's ready to put down a basketball for good though, not necessarily when he's garnered an NBA championship title.

"Your life has already been planned out the way it’s supposed to go and we’re just putting the pieces together that have been put together," he said of playing for a Finals trophy. "So yes, that is the ultimate goal. I would love to hold up that trophy. I would love to be in that situation. Not at the expense of … and I could fill in the blanks with a lot of things. I won’t sell my soul. Wherever that is, or with whoever it is, I will be prepared to do whatever it takes to help that team.”

Carter is 81 points from passing Allen Iverson for 23rd on the all-time scoring list. This season, he's averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 24 minutes.