Vince Carter's 5 most memorable moments in Toronto
This could be it.
Sunday's Sacramento Kings vs. Toronto Raptors contest at the Air Canada Centre may well be Vince Carter's final NBA game in the city he put on the basketball map. The soon-to-be 41-year-old is averaging 2.9 points in 18 games for the Kings, but he still leaves memories of a two-decade mark on the league - and, especially, Canada's lone NBA franchise.
Not all the memorable moments he created at the arena that helped christen his early nickname were positive for the Raptors, however.
First NBC game, Feb. 27, 2000
Carter exploded onto the NBA scene in his rookie campaign, the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season. By the following year, the Raptors were playoff contenders, fronted by Vince and cousin Tracy McGrady. In February 2000, Carter put on a performance for the ages in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.
Those factors led NBC, the league's marquee broadcaster at the time, to change its schedule to get Vince and the Raps on against Jason Kidd's Phoenix Suns. Carter scored a career-high 51 points - a mark he's matched once since - in Toronto's 103-102 win.
Drops 50 in Game 3 vs. 76ers, May 11, 2001
The 2001 second-round playoff series between the Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers was a postseason classic, featuring peak Vince vs. peak Allen Iverson. In front of one of the most raucous Toronto sports crowds ever in Game 3, Carter scored 50, including hitting a then-NBA playoff record nine treys. The Raps won in a rout 102-78, taking a 2-1 series lead.
Beats Raptors, Jan. 8, 2006
Following a contentious divorce from the Raptors, Carter resurrected his injury-plagued career with the Nets. In his second visit back to Toronto in a New Jersey uniform, he scored 42 points - including the game-winning trey with 0.1 seconds left. The image of Kidd leaping onto Carter in celebration cemented Vince's villain status among Raps fans.
Beats Raptors again, Nov. 21, 2008
Carter and then-Nets coach Lawrence Frank were a particularly painful thorn in the Raptors' side for a couple of seasons. On this night, Carter forced overtime with a ridiculously hard 3-pointer over Anthony Parker, then won the game in OT on a simple ATO cut.
Time heals all wounds? Nov. 19, 2014
The road to reconciliation between a big part of Toronto's fan base and Carter appeared to begin when he visited as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies early in the 2014-15 season. A Raptors video tribute to Carter was at first booed by an audible number of fans, but many of those turned to cheers when it became clear how emotional the former franchise player was.