Congratulations, Vince Carter!

Vince Carter is now set to begin his 22nd NBA season this fall, an all-time record.

As a Raptors fan, I haven't seen Carter suit up for my team in almost fifteen years. However, when he was a Raptor:

I attended his basketball camp in Toronto for two straight years. The first year, he dunked on me. The second year, he couldn't make it, so I got to meet Steve Nash. (Here's a video of Carter's Orlando camp.)

I saw him win the Slam Dunk Contest back when it felt much bigger than it does today.

I bought his jersey 70% off a few days after the Raptors traded him to the Nets on December 17, 2004, a day that lives on in basketball infamy. I figured the jersey would be a collector's item, and I'd frame it; I'm technically not wrong yet.

Similar to mine, although mine's Medium rather than 48. It's flattering to see my old jersey on KYVintage.com. I guess my old times going to the Air Canada Centre during the Carter Era are more vintage than I realize.

It's hard to believe there are incoming high school students who were never able to see Carter play in a Raptors uniform. "Vinsanity" is, to them, a historical term.

Although Carter hasn't averaged 20 points per game in over a decade, he averaged double-figures until he turned 38.

For those who missed Monday's announcement,

According to NBA.com:

Veteran forward Vince Carter has agreed to a deal to return to the Atlanta Hawks, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The 2019-20 season will mark Carter's 22nd, breaking a record shared by Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Kevin Willis and Robert Parish.

As Global News aptly points out, Half-Man, Half-Amazing will be the first player in NBA history to play in four decades ('90s, '00s, '10s, '20s).

All this said, there's still another year of Carter. This is far from a retirement announcement. While I don't have the Hawks in the playoffs, I'm big on their recent drafts of DeAndre Hunter and Cameron Reddish, both of whom will no doubt love playing with the first greatest Raptor.

Here's to what looks like one last season of VC: the player who after starting with such a flash, has lit his way to the unexpectedly longest career in NBA history.