Orlando Magic: 5 players who’ve got next for the Basketball Hall of Fame
Orlando Magic: Next up for the Hall of Fame
Vince Carter (2010-11)
Hall of Fame Probability: 94.6%
There was a time in the not-so-distant past where debates of Vince Carter’s Hall of Fame credentials were sure to end friendships. In the early days of the Internet, this might as well have been the same as asking whether a hot dog was a sandwich. It split people down the middle.
The argument would go that Carter never won anything — indeed the 2010 Orlando Magic reaching the Eastern Conference Finals was his deepest playoff run — and, in some ways, he never reached his full potential because of it.
Never mind, Carter had a consistent run with the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets where he racked up All-Star appearances and guided his team into the playoffs every year.
As Carter aged out of the NBA and redefined himself, first accepting a bench role with the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies, then becoming a mentor with the Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks, nostalgia started to kick in.
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This was a player who still engendered warm feelings and a sense of awe. Carter’s image was almost completely rehabilitated by the time he retired. There was a general appreciation for what he represented and his entire career.
There is zero doubt that Carter will make the Hall of Fame at this point. It is impossible to tell the story of basketball without Carter. He inspired an entire country in Canada to take up basketball and mesmerized fans for a decade-long peak.
The Magic got Carter at the end of that peak. He averaged 16.3 points per game in a season and a half with Orlando, his hometown team. It was the last time that Carter would be a reliable starter. His transformation began and it closed the Magic’s window, especially when they executed a panic trade that put them further in the hole in Dec. 2010.
Still, Carter had some good moments in Orlando. He was not the superstar the team needed to get over the top and to win the NBA Finals, but he was still solid fitting into the bigger picture with the team. And he had that 40-plus point game on national TV against the New Orleans Hornets that just made everyone believe again.
Carter’s time with the Magic will not get remembered much in the bigger picture. But Carter will get his day in Springfield in the fall of 2025.