Los Angeles (AFP)

Among the resigned or disappointed, not concerned by the resumption of the season, there is a great unfortunate, Vince Carter, formidable supplier of show made-in-NBA over four decades, who could not go to the end of his tour of farewell yet deserved.

With Carter's retirement now underway, the Atlanta Hawks being one of the eight teams that will not finish the championship on July 31 at Disney World, it is a page of the league that is turning.

In this case that of the 2000s, certainly dominated by the Lakers of the Bryant / O'Neal duo and by the Spurs of the Duncan / Parker / Ginobili trio, but whose "Vinsanity" was one of the most flamboyant ambassadors, before showing off 'remarkable longevity.

Carter will certainly never have won the labyrinth ring in 22 seasons, he will not even have approached it, whether with Toronto, New Jersey, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento and Atlanta.

But he leaves behind crazy dunks who helped boost the popularity of the NBA around the world, especially in Canada where he left a huge impact on basketball culture, placing Toronto on the NBA map thanks to his exploits. on a trampoline in the early hours of the Raptors.

- "The dunk of death" -

An indelible trace, which was also the subject of a documentary "The Carter Effect" in 2017, produced by LeBron James, where the phenomenon was dissected by many personalities, from the former Canadian glory Steve Nash to the rap star Drake.

"What if Carter had never played for the Raptors?" Wondered the latter at the very end of the film, implying that their fate could have been the same as that of the Grizzlies, who stayed only six years in Vancouver (1995-2001 ), far from knowing that his favorite team would become NBA champion two years later.

Although he obviously did not participate in this glorious campaign, Carter could nevertheless be the first to have his jersey in Toronto, where fans quickly nicknamed him "Air Canada" for his impressive flights to the basket.

His big night also took place in February 2000 where he stunned the basketball world with a perfect dunk contest at the All-Star Game, which has gone down in history as one of the most beautiful in history, just like the demonstration made by Michael Jordan, flying over the debates in 1988.

A few months later, his famous "dunk of death" crushed on the French Frédéric Weiss, yet measuring twenty centimeters more, in a group match of the Sydney Games, went around the world. Designated new American terror, he won the Olympic gold a few days later

- From Jordan to Zion -

It will be his only notable title. Individually, on the other hand, the distinctions were not lacking: among which 8 selections in the All-Star Game, trophy of the rookie of the year, and a 6th place in the rank of the best scorers with 3 points in career, which proves to which point, far from being a convict of dunk, he knew how to reinvent his game.

Finally, Vince Carter is also a personality who was able to store his ego in his sneakers, leaving for example to Michael Jordan his place in the five major of the Eastern Conference, for his last All-Star Game, despite the fan vote.

As such, he is the one who will have played, between 1998 and 2020, over four decades, a unique fact, both against the best basketball player of all time and against the future big star of the league Zion Williamson, without forget about giants like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

This trip of 22 years "represents more or less my whole adult life, so it is not so easy for me to say that it is finished, and to leave. I have accomplished a lot, I liked to play. And that's why I play, because I like it. I'm not looking for a ring, it's not a question of money, even if there are many nowadays. It's just for the love of the game, "he said recently.

"It was good basketball. I loved every moment, the good and the bad."

© 2020 AFP