Grizzlies’ Vince Carter Vows He’s Not Done Yet: ‘Two More Years And I’m Done’

Professional athletes that depend mostly on their athleticism don’t normally have long careers in their sport of choice. In the NBA, high-fly acts fade out quicker than others once Father Time starts to catch up with them, but Vince Carter of the Memphis Grizzlies is the exception.

Carter is still going strong at 40 years old and despite an early exit in the NBA playoffs with the Memphis Grizzlies losing the San Antonio Spurs in six games, the veteran once to continue playing a little while longer, via RealGM.com:

“I said to myself ‘I want to play 15 years’. I don’t know where I got that from. And the I got to 15 years and I kept going. I never capped it, but at the same time I’ve had a lot of players remind me of things I’ve said,” said Carter about how he kept telling fellow players he would retire after two more years.

“I’m still saying ‘two more years and I’m done.”

Carter burst onto the scene in the NBA back in 1998. The North Carolina product made highlight reels on a nightly basis with his incredible athleticism and ability to play above the rim like no other player we’ve seen before.

Although Carter became a star as the face of the Toronto Raptors franchise, he was never able to reach the top in Canada and as a result bounced around the league a bit. Despite leaving Toronto, Carter has had success wherever he’s played in the NBA from catching lobs from Jason Kidd in New Jersey to playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas and now being a key role player for the Grizzlies with Marc Gasol and Mike Conley.

Earlier in his career, there was no way anyone would think his career would last this long let alone reaching 40 and being productive enough to play another two seasons. Carter is a freak of nature and a familiar face that will continue to lace them up as long as an NBA team will have him.