Curtesy of nba.com
| BACKGROUND Vince Carter earned Rookie of the Year honors following an electrifying debut season in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors, who obtained him in a draft day trade. Carter was selected fifth overall by the Golden State Warriors in the 1998 NBA Draft as an early entry candidate out of North Carolina, then immediately traded to the Raptors along with cash for the rights to college teammate Antawn Jamison, the fourth overall selection in the draft. An explosive 6-6 swingman, Carter improved steadily in his three years at North Carolina and earned First Team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and Second Team All-America honors in 1997-98. Carter averaged 7.5 ppg as a freshman and 13.0 rpg as a sophomore before coming into his own as a junior. He averaged 15.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and led the ACC with a field goal percentage of .590, including marks of 18.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg and .590 in the NCAA Tournament. He tallied a season-high 24 points (two shy of his career high, set against Wake Forest as a sophomore) in the tournament against UNC-Charlotte and netted 21 points in the national semifinals against Utah, shooting 10-for-16 against the Utes. Like another 6-6 North Carolina product named Michael Jordan, Carter blossomed upon hitting the pros, dazzling fans and the media with his acrobatic drives to the basket and dynamic dunks. He was a runaway choice for Rookie of the Year after averaging 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.54 blocks and 1.10 steals for the Toronto Raptors. He was the only rookie to lead his team in scoring in 1998-99. 1999-2000 NOTES Scored 12 points as a starter in the 2000 NBA All-Star Game Won the NBA.com Slam Dunk competition Registered a game-high 36 points in a 109-88 win over Atlanta on 2/8 Tallied 30 points and 11 rebounds in a 98-95 win in Milwaukee on 2/5 Logged a career-high 47 points (20-32 FG) in a 115-110 win over Milwaukee on 1/14 Recorded a game-high 30 points and dished 9 assists in a 108-102 win over Orlando on 1/12 Notched 34 points and 7 rebounds in a 105-97 loss in Atlanta on 1/7 Posted 35 points and 12 boards in a 100-99 win in Houston on 12/28 Registered 36 points (11-11 FT) and 8 assists in a 98-95 win in Cleveland on 12/26 Recorded a game-high 36 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in a 91-90 loss in New York on 12/22 Scored 29 points in a 94-88 loss to the Lakers on 12/19 Totaled 32 points and 7 rebounds in a 101-98 win over Cleveland on 12/7 Posted a career-high 39 points (15-25 FG, 8-8 FT) in a 98-92 win over San Antonio on 12/5 Named NBA Player of the Week (11/15 - 11/21), averaging 24.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg and 3.8 apg Tallied 34 points and 13 rebounds in a 111-102 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers on 11/21 Registered team-highs with 27 points and 11 rebounds in a 93-90 loss to Philadelphia on 11/14 Scored a game-high 26 points (11-17 FG) and grabbed 5 rebounds in a 112-92 victory in New Jersey on 11/5 1998-99 NOTES Named the winner of the 1998-99 Schick Rookie of the Year Award, and was a unanimous selection to the 1998-99 Schick All-Rookie First Team, after leading the Raptors in scoring (18.3 ppg), blocked shots shots (1.54 bpg, 16th in the NBA) and field-goal percentage (.450) Led all rookies in scoring and blocked shots, ranked 3rd in assists (3.0 apg) and double-doubles (6), 4th in rebounds (5.7 rpg), 5th in steals (1.10 spg), 6th in field-goal percentage and 8th in free-throw percentage (.761) Named Rookie of the Month for April, leading all rookies with 20.6 ppg and adding 5.9 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.61 bpg and 1.22 spg Totaled 17 points and team-highs of 12 rebounds and 8 assists against the Cleveland Cavaliers on 4/16 Posted a game-high 29 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 blocked shots against the Indiana Pacers on 4/12 Registered a game-high 31 points (12-22 FG), 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots against the Boston Celtics on 4/8 Scored Toronto's final 6 points and converted the game-winning tip-in with 18 seconds left, recording a game-high 31 points (13-22 FG, 5-5 FT), 11 rebounds and 6 assists, in an 88-87 victory over the Indiana Pacers on 4/1 Named Rookie of the Month for March, leading all rookies with 18.4 ppg and adding 6.0 rpg, 2.6 apg and 1.35 bpg to lead the Raptors to their first winning month (11-6) in team history Totaled a season and game-high 32 points (13-20 FG, 2-2 3FG, 4-4 FT) and a team-high 6 assists against the Houston Rockets on 3/25 Became the first Toronto Raptors player to be named NBA Player of the Week, for the week ending 3/21, after averaging 20.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 1.60 bpg to lead the Raptors to a 5-0 week Hit the game-winning runner in the lane with 13.3 seconds left, posting a game-high 28 points (9-13 FG, 10-11 FT) and 3 rebounds, in a 103-101 win over the Detroit Pistons on 3/17 Registered a game-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots against the Indiana Pacers on 2/24 Made his NBA debut, recorded 16 points and 3 rebounds, in a 103-92 victory over the Boston Celtics on 2/5 |