Vince Carter remembers the emotions he and Tracy McGrady felt as they sat together during the 2019 NBA Finals. The Toronto Raptors were on the verge of making history by closing in on their first NBA championship, and the gravity of that moment was not lost on the former teammates who helped the franchise graduate from its expansion era to legit NBA hotspot.
“I remember Tracy and I, we were sitting there, Mac turned to me and said, ‘Man, these guys are like one game away from winning a championship. How crazy is that thinking back to where we started and what we were trying to accomplish?’”
The Raptors have accomplished a lot since those early days when the franchise faced the uphill battle of putting Toronto on the NBA map and making it a desirable destination for star players. But those concerns have long been put to rest, which is why Carter is disappointed that some misconceptions about the city and organization remain.
On Wednesday’s episode of The VC Show, Carter addressed recent comments made by Fox Sports host Chris Broussard, who slammed the city of Toronto when discussing the Raptors as a possible trade destination for disgruntled Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant.
“I don’t think KD will want to go to Toronto,” Broussard said on First Things First. “Great city, but it’s not America and you feel it when you’re there, I’m telling you, especially as an African American. It’s a different situation than African Americans are used to being in. And I’ve talked to people in that organization pre [Masai] Ujiri about, can they keep African-American superstars there? Tracy McGrady left. Vince Carter left. Chris Bosh left."
“I don’t think KD will be happy there and that will be a problem,” Broussard added.
The American host faced heavy criticism for his comments, and the former Raptors star is the latest to dismiss Broussard’s rant as an outdated opinion.
“I’ve had my ups and downs with Toronto for whatever reasons, being traded and all that, but one thing Toronto is not is an awkward city for an African American,” a visibly frustrated Carter said on his show.
“It’s just so far-fetched and it kinda bothered me because I spent six years there and seeing it grow to what it is now. When you go there now, you don’t feel like, ‘I’m in some foreign country and I don’t know how to function.’ Everywhere you go feels just like being in the States,” he added.
Carter, who played with eight different teams during his 24 seasons in the NBA, went on to say that the city and organization did face some challenges early on, but they have since proven their naysayers wrong.
“That was an issue back in the day, trying to get guys there. One, people didn’t know about the city and two, visibility — and that was our thing. But we took advantage. Tracy and I took advantage of the opportunities we finally got. On the dunk contest, when we finally got on that national stage, we made a splash because if you’re doing your thing, they’re going to find you.”
And much of that early success translated into Toronto becoming a location where players could make a name for themselves. Carter was one of the first big stars to sign an extension with the Raptors and many others have followed suit since.
“I re-upped there. There [are] other players who re-upped there. There [are] players that are dying to get to Toronto, saying that Toronto was one of the best-kept secrets — which I'm well documented saying that 20 years ago. It's just disappointing to hear that. Where do you get that information from? What players have you quoted? Is that your personal opinion?”
The eight-time NBA All-Star also noted that Toronto even became a popular destination for players in the off-season during his time with the Raptors.
“I used to do a charity game during [Toronto’s Caribbean festival] Caribana, and I used to have guys begging me [to come] … ‘Make sure I can get on your list of guys to play in the game,’ because they love the city, they love the people, they love what they have to offer,” Carter said.
What the Raptors have to offer also extends well beyond the city of Toronto. Carter highlighted the massive fan support for the team across all of Canada, which was evident during celebrations of the 2019 NBA championship.
“When they win the championship in Toronto, this is all of Canada. They have one team and they support that. Every Canadian is now like, ‘My team, we won’ because they represent their country. It’s just next level,” he said.
Carter, who the Raptors traded to the New Jersey Nets in December of 2004, is not the only former NBA player to disagree with Broussard’s comments. Carter’s former Nets teammate Richard Jefferson, who played 17 seasons in the NBA and now works as an analyst on ESPN, also came to Toronto’s defence, saying it’s one of the top five cities in the NBA.
"Toronto is one of the greatest cities I’ve ever been to. It is one of the most beautiful cities, the people, the energy, the food, everyone is so nice. We always call it the nice New York and players love going to New York," Jefferson said in a social media post.
