With no championship, no MVP, and no first team, why can Carter still be called one of the top four shooting guards?

Since Michael Jordan retired, many fans have worried that in the post-Jordan era of the NBA, the ratings will be much lower than before. But these worries are unnecessary. After Jordan, there are still many outstanding juniors springing up like mushrooms after a rain. Among them, the most representative ones are the four shooting guards, namely Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter.

Among them, Kobe has won all the honors. In addition to the championship, Iverson has also swept almost all awards. Even McGrady has entered the best first team and won the scoring title. Compared with the above three people, Carter seems a little out of place. After all, he has no championship, no MVP, or even a first team. But in the eyes of the fans, he is worthy. Let us take a look at why he deserves this title!

His personal influence is huge, saving NBA ratings.

First of all, it needs to be mentioned that Carter's influence is no worse than the other three, and was even the highest among the three at one time. Before entering the NBA, Carter had already made a name for himself in the NCAA, and after entering the NBA, he became a household name in the basketball world. Especially his dunks. If you look at them from today's perspective, then he is integrated with the elegance of Zach LaVine and the violence of Aaron Gordon. With the combination of the two, every dunk by Carter is like a work of art, which makes countless fans continue to reminisce. Even today, it is still an existence that no one can match.

It was precisely because of Carter's emergence that the NBA's ratings were saved to a great extent. In the 2000 All-Star Game, the slam dunk contest, which was once regarded as useless, became the focus of attention around the world. The ratings even exceeded that of the subsequent All-Star Game. What they wanted to see was what kind of actions Carter could perform to detonate a visual feast. And he did not disappoint the fans. He stunned the audience at the scene and in front of the TV with his graceful movements. Not only did he win the slam dunk contest, he also saved the event and helped the NBA attract more fans.

At the same time, not only did he save the NBA's ratings, Carter also made a lot of contributions to the sport of basketball. In the offseason of 1995, the NBA expanded, and this time they set their sights on neighboring Canada. Vancouver and Toronto each had a team. But the weather here is freezing, and Canadian people love ice hockey more. Therefore, the attendance of the Raptors and Grizzlies in the early days of entering the NBA was very dismal, and no players were willing to play for these two teams.

However, after Carter was selected by the Raptors, he directly helped the team's attendance rate increase exponentially, while the Grizzlies directly left Vancouver and moved back to Memphis. There is no doubt that it was Carter's presence that helped Toronto retain the Raptors. And because of Carter's arrival, many young Canadian fans have been deeply affected. Since then, stars including Jamal Murray, RJ Barrett, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and other stars have emerged. From this point of view, Carter's value is not limited to the basketball court.

A living fossil of the NBA, he personally spans four eras.

When Carter announced his retirement, he set a record, that is, he is the only player in the NBA who can span four eras. From entering the NBA in 1998 to retiring in 2020, Carter can be said to have experienced the most glorious era of the NBA, and during this period, he left a very deep mark.

In the Raptors, he was the best shooting guard in the Eastern Conference, comparable to Iverson. He helped the Raptors improve from a weak team to a playoff-level team. Before the Garbage Brothers, it was Carter who led them to the first Eastern Conference semifinals in team history. After moving to the Nets, the cooperation between him and Jason Kidd was also very pleasing to the eye. He faced Alonzo Mourning many times and performed wonderful dunks between each other, which became the most classic moment in the history of the Nets. Although he failed to help these two teams win the championship, because of his outstanding performance and influence, he still received the honor of having his jersey retired after retiring.

Later, with the decline of personal ability and the increase of age, Carter gradually became a role player, but even so, he did not complain at all, but silently accepted it and began to transform into a supporting player. Facts have also proved that his transformation was very successful. Whether it was the Magic, Suns, and Mavericks later, or the Grizzlies, Kings, and Hawks in the last years, he was able to enter the team's rotation, and from time to time he was able to have a flash of inspiration and perform wonderful dunks.

And as a veteran, he has played the role of a spiritual leader in the locker rooms of each team, and has been recognized and respected by the juniors. He has played in the NBA for 22 full seasons. This is a very remarkable record. He can be called a living fossil of the NBA. Among the four shooting guards, he has played the most NBA seasons. It can be said that he is the epitome of an era.

He has won personal honors and was successfully elected to the Hall of Fame.

Finally, let’s talk about Carter’s personal honors. He averaged 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in his career, with a total score of more than 25,000 points. He was selected to the All-Star team 8 times, 1 time to the All-NBA Second Team, 1 time to the All-NBA Third Team, 1 Best Rookie trophy and 1 most valuable Slam Dunk Contest championship. These honors can be achieved. And don’t forget that in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Carter, who played for the Dream Team 4, not only helped the team win the Olympic gold medal, but also completed a shocking dunk on the head of French center Weiss, known as the "Dunk of the Century.".

Because of Carter's dazzling performance, local audiences in Sydney began to fall more and more in love with the sport of basketball, which greatly helped the development of basketball in Australia. It is also recognition of Carter that he was successfully elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame. So no matter from which point of view, Carter is worthy of being among the top four shooting guards. This is the greatest respect for this legendary star.