Did you know that Vince Carter is older than Mike Bibby? He’s also older than Shane Battier. Older than Kobe Bryant. And Richard Hamilton, Jermaine O’Neal and Shawn Marion. Stephon Marbury and Peja Stojakovic, too.
And unlike all of those younger players, Vince Carter, now six weeks past his 40th birthday, is still in the NBA. And make no mistake, he still can ball.
On Monday night, Carter scored 24 points on 8-for-8 shooting as his Grizzlies beat the Bucks. In doing so, he joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, John Stockton, Michael Jordan, Robert Parish and Karl Malone as the only players in NBA history to put up 20 in a game after the age of 40.
He also became the first ever 40-year-old to hit six 3-pointers in a single game.
After two years of seeing his numbers and his playing time drop, Carter is back up to 8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 23.7 minutes a game for Memphis. His 39.3 percent from the field won’t win him any efficiency awards, but he’s 40 years old for crying out loud.
And on Monday, the former dunk maestro showed he can still get up a little bit.
Throughout this season, Carter has flashed signs of the old Vinsanity.
There was the time he made an acrobatic 360 lay-up the day before his 40th birthday…
And the time last month he blocked two shots on one possession…
And now 24 points on perfect shooting, plus a nifty reverse dunk.
A man who was once mocked for his fragility is now the oldest player in the NBA and is setting records for his longevity. May Vince Carter never retire.