1999-2015: A Year-by-Year Vince Carter Dunk Retrospective

Since he entered the NBA in 1998, Vince Carter has put on an aerial show unmatched by any who have come before him.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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With the fifth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors selected Vince Carter from the University of North Carolina. On February 5, 1999, Carter made his NBA debut…with the Toronto Raptors. This is how the story of the man known as “Air Canada,” “Vinsanity,” and “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” began.

After he burst onto the scene with the Raptors, Vince Carter instantly became a household name. He took home Rookie of the Year honors in 1999, and he lit up arenas with high-flying aerial displays, which quickly earned him accolades as one of the most feared dunkers in the league. In 2000, he put the Association on his back and single-handedly made the Slam Dunk Contest relevant again.

From his first home in Toronto to his current residence in Memphis, VC has played for six different NBA teams and earned eight All-Star nods. He’s put Tim Duncan and Alonzo Mourning on posters, and he put USA basketball front and center with a dunk of epic proportions at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

Today, Vince Carter turns 38, and while he may not be quite at the level he once was, there’s still plenty of juice in Vinsanity’s tank. From his jam on Dikembe Mutombo to his rookie initiation of Jusuf Nurkic, check out our  Year-by-Year Vince Carter Dunk Retrospective.

Written by Adam Silvers (@silversurfer103)

Vince Carter Introduces Himself to Dikembe Mutombo

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“Le Dunk de la Mort”

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VC Puts Bo Outlaw on a Poster

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Tim Duncan Never Saw It Coming

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Hey, Celtics, Air Canada is Now Boarding

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Look Out Below, Washington

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Alonzo Mourning Was Never the Same

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Kendrick Perkins Feels the Wrath of Vinsanity

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Vince Carter Puts the Hornets on Blast

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RIP, D.J. Mbenga

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VC Lets the Knicks Feel the Wind

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Half-Man, Half-Amazing Rattles Amway Arena

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Vince Carter Reminds the Nets What They’re Missing

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Vinsanity Throws Down a Reverse Jam on the Clips

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VC Rings in the New Year With Authority

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Vince Carter Leaves Tim Duncan With a Case of Déjà vu

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At 38, Vince Carter Still Manages to Amaze

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