Brooklyn Nets: Former Net Vince Carter wants record return

Vince Carter never played for the Brooklyn Nets, but he was a staple of some very good New Jersey Nets teams. Now 42, he wants to play a 22nd season.

The Brooklyn Nets honored Vince Carter with a video presentation when he was at Barclays Center with the Atlanta Hawks on Jan. 9.

The thinking was that it might just be the last time the soon-to-be 42-year-old would be an active player against the franchise for which he played five outstanding seasons from 2004-09.

The video department may have to do some edits after he said Tuesday on a podcast he co-hosts with Hawks teammate Kent Bazemore that he wants to return for what would be an NBA-record 22nd season.

Per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Carter had just three words.

"“I’m coming back.”"

Whether that will be in Atlanta for a second season or somewhere else — Carter will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 — he didn’t say. Carter indicated he’d like to return to the Hawks.

By playing in a 21st season in 2018-19, Carter (as well as recently retired Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki) tied the NBA mark for longevity, joining Robert Parish, Kevin Willis and another former Net, Kevin Garnett.

Carter had a pretty good season in Atlanta, playing in 76 games — his highest total since appearing in 81 for the Mavericks in 2013-14 — and averaged 7.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game.

He shot 41.9 percent overall, posted his best 3-point percentage in five years at 38.9 percent and showed he still had some burst.

Joe Harris certainly wasn’t the first player to get beat by Carter’s first step … and he apparently won’t be the last, either.

Carter will be 43 next January. He’s currently the fifth-oldest person to appear in an NBA game, playing in his final game this season at age 42 years, 87 days.

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Dikembe Mutombo played his final game at 42 years, 300 days. Parish was 43 years, 254 days and Willis was 44 years, 224 days.

The oldest player to appear in an NBA game didn’t actually appear in an NBA game. Nat Hickey was 45 years, 363 days old when he appeared in the last of two games with the Providence Steamrollers in the old Basketball Association of America — an NBA forerunner — in 1948.

Hickey was also the coach of the Steamrollers, who spent more time being steamrolled in a 6-42 campaign.

But would you bet against Carter making a run at that mark as well?

If he plays in a single game next season, Carter would be the last player standing who appeared in an NBA game in the 20th century. He made his lockout-delayed NBA debut for the Toronto Raptors on Feb. 5, 1999, en route to winning Rookie of the Year honors that season.

He went on to make two All-NBA teams and play in eight All-Star games.

But had you asked me to assemble a list of potential candidates to be the last 20th century NBA player still active, Carter never would have made the cut.

Early in his career, he was just the wrong type of player to achieve that sort of longevity. Rim runners and slashers take flight, do their dunking thing and then wear down and fade away.

But Carter was able to adapt. He became more of a jump shooter than a high flyer. Later Carter made the more difficult transition from superstar to role player and then to reserve. The last season Carter started more games than he came off the bench was in 2011-12.

As far as his Nets history goes, Carter still ranks on the franchise’s career leaderboard in several categories, including third all-time in points, 3-pointers made and attempted; sixth in assists and eighth in minutes played.

His 23.6 points per game average is third behind ABA standouts Rick Barry and Julius Erving and he has second-highest usage percentage in franchise history, trailing only D’Angelo Russell.

It’s usually bigs who last the longest. After all, wings get slower but bigs never get smaller.

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So I’ll be actively rooting for VC to get a contract for next season, because he’s defied just about all the odds to put together what will be the longest NBA career in history.