This one is special.
Vince Carter is about to reach heights that are even new for him.
The Brooklyn Nets announced Thursday that they’re going to honor the legacy of VC with a full weekend of events leading up to his No. 15 jersey retirement on Saturday, January 25 against the Miami Heat.
According to the team, the first event will start on Thursday, January 23 with a red-carpet premiere of a 90-minute documentary film “From Daytona Beach to Brooklyn,” at Brooklyn Paramount. The movie will “tell the story of Carter’s life and basketball journey with a focus on his time with the Nets, featuring in-depth interviews with Carter, his former teammates, coaches, family members and more.” Following the screening, Carter will participate in a live discussion for the audience.
“Will you see V.C.?”
If not the movie, then it’d be awfully hard to miss the next one if you’re in the metropolitan area. The Empire State Building will honor Carter and the Nets by lighting the New Jersey Nets’ red, white, and blue color scheme with the number 15 rotating on the spire. Pretty cool stuff — it feels like the first of its kind for a NJ Nets player to be celebrated in such a special way.
Carter will be at the Empire State Building on Friday morning for a special ceremony.
The series of events lead right into Brooklyn’s game against Miami. Before the game, the Nets will hold a press conference at Barclays Center and Carter will field questions from the media and reflect on some of the glory days. At halftime, Carter will be joined by family, former teammates, and past/present Nets’ personnel to officially retire No. 15 and put him in the Barclays Center rafters where he belongs.
Some features for fans who attend the game:
- The first 10,000 fans in attendance will receive a commemorative Vince Carter bobblehead.
- Fans will have a chance to win a meet and greet with Carter or a photo with the banner on the team’s court following the game.
- Limited edition Mitchell and Ness Vince Carter merchandise will be sold at a special pop-up on the arena’s main concourse, as well as at the team’s store at Barclays Center.
It’s only appropriate he gets his number retired against the Heat, perhaps a troll on his famous dunk on Alonzo Mourning. Let’s just hope they don’t paint this banner black-and-white. Just sayin’.
Carter, alongside Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, helped lead the Nets to three playoff berths, including a pair of runs to the Eastern Conference Semifinals (2006 and 2007). He ranks third in Nets history in total points (8,834) and holds the two highest-scoring seasons in the team’s NBA record books, including the only 2,000-point campaign (2006-07).
VC will join Dražen Petrović (3), Jason Kidd (5), John Williamson (23), Bill Melchionni (25), Julius Erving (232) and Charles “Buck” Williams (52) in the rafters at Barclays. Kidd was the last to be commemorated in such fashion. It’s only appropriate they put VC up there with him to finish the alley-oop.