Vince Carter retires: An incredible 22-year NBA career in numbers

Atlanta, June 25: The NBA may be coming back next month, but Vince Carter will not be returning to the court again having confirmed his retirement.

Only the 22 teams with the best records will recommence the 2019-20 season in Florida, with the campaign already over for eight clubs, including Carter's Atlanta Hawks.

" title="Vince Carter officially announces retirement after 22-year NBA career
" />Vince Carter officially announces retirement after 22-year NBA career

The 43-year-old became the first man to play an NBA game in four different decades this year, but he told the Ringer's 'Winging It With Vince Carter' podcast that he was "officially done playing basketball professionally".

Though 'Vinsanity' will not be afforded the farewell many of his peers received, we take a look at the eight-time All-Star's brilliant career using Stats Perform News numbers.

LONGEVITY

Carter entered the league in 1998 having been drafted fifth overall and he played in 50 games for the Toronto Raptors during a lockout-shortened campaign, during which he won Rookie of the Year.

Incredibly, the guard has barely missed any significant time over the past 22 years - only sitting out the final 22 games of the 2001-02 season and the start of the following term due to injury - and he started all 82 games for the New Jersey Nets in 2006-07.

In all, Carter has played 1,541 games, the third-most of all time and a total only Robert Parish and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar can better, and he was only 20 appearances away from moving up to second on the list.

The honour of playing in the most NBA seasons does belong to Carter, though, as this campaign was his 22nd, one more than Parish, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Willis.

JOURNEYMAN

Unlike Dallas Mavericks icon Nowitzki - the NBA's ultimate one-team man - and Garnett, who represented only three clubs, Carter has called almost a third of the NBA home at one point or another.

After lengthy spells with the Raptors and Nets, Carter played for the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings before arriving in Atlanta in 2018.

Of those to have played for eight NBA teams, Carter's 25,728 points are 6,314 more than anyone else, with Jamal Crawford next on that list ahead of Otis Thorpe and Willis.

Carter has played at least 50 games per season at each of those eight stops, another record he holds along with others such as Crawford and Matt Barnes.

POINTS

Naturally given such longevity, it is no surprise to see Carter flying high on all-time points lists too.

His 25,728 points are the 19th-most of all time, more than notable names such as Reggie Miller, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley.

Moreover, Carter is a top-five scorer for two different franchises: the Nets (where he has the third-most points ever) and the Raptors (where he has the fourth-most). Others to own that distinction include Chris Bosh (the Raptors and Miami Heat) and LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers and Heat).

Carter's accuracy from beyond the arc certainly helped his numbers, as he drained 2,290 three-pointers - sixth-most of all time - from 6,168 attempts, the fifth-most of all time.

He may not get the rapturous send-off his career deserves, but Carter's impact on the NBA over the past two-and-a-bit decades has certainly been felt.