Odds Say Vince Carter Will Have Jersey Retired by Raptors Before Kawhi Leonard Or Kyle Lowry
- Books have established Vince Carter as the -160 favorite to be the first player to have his number retired by the Raptors
- Carter wore #15 for Toronto from 1998-2004
- Kawhi Leonard (+200), the 2019 NBA Finals MVP, is the second betting choice
Vince Carter’s #15 will soon be lofted to the rafters of the Scotiabank Centre by the Toronto Raptors.
For the Raptors to consider retiring any other jersey number prior to honoring Carter would be utter Vinsanity.
That’s also the way sportsbooks see it, offering an NBA special wager on whose number the Raptors will retire first, and Carter’s #15 is the odds-on favorite at -160.
Who Will Have Their Jersey Retired First By The Toronto Raptors?
| Player | Number | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Vince Carter | 15 | -160 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 2 | +200 |
| Kyle Lowry | 7 | +350 |
| DeMar DeRozan | 10 | +600 |
| Chris Bosh | 4 | +950 |
*Odds taken on 08/21/19.
Kawhi Leonard, who led the Raptors to the first championship in franchise history and won the NBA Finals MVP Award, is the second betting choice at +200.
Carter Was Air Canada
The 2018-19 NBA title captured by the Raptors was the culmination of what Carter ignited in the city of Toronto.
He was the star of the Raptors when they made their first playoff appearance in 2000, and was their leader when they won their first postseason series in 2001, scoring 50 points in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Carter was more than just a star player. He was an icon.
Ask any Canadian NBA player in the league today, from Andrew Wiggins to Jamal Murray to Nik Stauskas and similar stories are repeated. They all were drawn to the hardwood by the chance to watch Carter in action.
#TBT miniature @NStauskas11 getting the stare down from @mrvincecarter15 before he hits some of his first NBA 3's pic.twitter.com/OP0CbRkxOS
— Peter Stauskas (@peterstauskas) August 21, 2014
As he launched himself skyward for one of his spectacular dunks, Carter was also launching them along their path to the NBA. He turned Toronto into a basketball city and made Raptors games at the Air Canada Centre a destination.
Heck, they even made a documentary about it, for crying out loud.
Kawhi Was Raptors’ Hired Gun
As magical as Leonard’s epic performance was last spring in leading the Raptors to their first NBA title, it was a one-off.
When Leonard opted to bolt for the Los Angeles Clippers about a month later, he became a shooting star on the Toronto horizon, and not the shining star that Carter was.
You can get an Oscar for a great performance but not a lifetime achievement award. An MVP honor is for a great performance – jersey retirements are lifetime achievement awards.
DeRozan was a nice player and a nicer person, but they don’t retire your number because you’re nice. Lowry is a complimentary player. He could get his number retired but not first. Bosh’s greatest success came elsewhere.
It Has To Be Vince
It ended badly for Carter in Toronto, with a messy divorce and a trade to the Nets in December 2004. A proposed 2019-20 reunion didn’t happen.
Regardless, to retire any Raptors jersey number ahead of Carter’s #15 would be an insult to his legacy.
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
