Vince Carter’s journey to wearing No. 15 began when he couldn’t get his preferred numbers—6, 12, or 23—during his freshman year at Florida’s Mainland High School. His mother, Michelle, offered him some advice: “Find a number and make it famous.”
Carter certainly did that, as his iconic No. 15 was honored when the Brooklyn Nets retired it during a game against the Miami Heat on Saturday. The ceremony featured Carter’s family, former teammates, ex-coach Lawrence Frank, team president Rod Thorn, and other Nets legends like Julius Erving, Bill Melchionni, and Buck Williams, who had their own numbers retired. With this honor, Carter became the seventh player in franchise history to have his number retired.
Carter expressed his gratitude and pride, saying, “This is truly something my family and I will cherish forever. To be the seventh number to go up is insane. It is an honor to be up there with you gentlemen.”
Vince Carter’s No. 15 jersey was retired, but he made sure to emphasize that it wasn’t just his achievement—it was a collective one. “No. 15 Carter is going up there, but we’re going up there together,” he said.
Throughout the ceremony, Carter sat beside his childhood hero, Julius Erving. He also received congratulatory messages from former teammates like Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, along with notable figures from the New York area, including Eli Manning, Queen Latifah, and rapper Fabolous.
Vince Carter’s No. 15 banner will hang right next to Jason Kidd’s No. 5, a fitting tribute to the duo that helped lead one of the most successful periods in the team’s history. Carter also credited Kidd with breathing new life into his career after the Nets traded for him in December 2004.
“There was new life,” Carter recalled about his move to New Jersey. “In Toronto, my role was simple: give me the ball, and I’ll score. But when I got here, I had a teammate who made the game easier for me.”
Although Carter played just 374 games with the Nets over four seasons, he set the team record for single-season points (2,070 in 2006-07) and ranks third in franchise history with 8,834 total points. He also sits fourth for career 3-pointers made (638) and playoff points (701).
Vince Carter helped lead the Nets to the playoffs three times, with the team advancing past the first round twice, only to be knocked out by the eventual Eastern Conference champions—Miami in 2006 and Cleveland in 2007.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who was an assistant during Miami’s 2006 title run, acknowledged that while the Nets never fully broke through, they were a very talented team. “They never got over the top, so they probably won’t get the recognition they deserve,” Spoelstra said. “That was a damn good basketball team, and Vince was a huge part of it.”
Carter retired in 2020 after an NBA-record 22 seasons at the age of 43 and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024. Now in his first season as a Nets television analyst, Carter’s evolution as a player was noted by Spoelstra, who said, “It’s amazing how his game evolved from just being a dunker to becoming nearly impossible to guard. He was one of the few players who could transition his game so gracefully, which really speaks to the kind of person he is.”
Though Carter played for multiple teams after the Nets traded him to Orlando in 2009, he said his time in New Jersey was among the best of his career. “We had fun, but we knew when to lock in,” Carter shared. “We enjoyed each other’s company, played for each other, and that made the game enjoyable. I did my job and had a darn good time doing it.”
