Vince Carter’s legendary high-wire act officially will land him in the Barclays Center rafters.
The Nets announced Wednesday that Carter, who will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame this summer, also will have his No. 15 retired by the team next season.
The eight-time All-Star played an NBA record 22 seasons in the league, which will be tied next season by LeBron James.
Only 4 ¹/₂ of those years were played with the Nets, while they still were in New Jersey, but Carter averaged 23.5 points per game with the team following a trade from the Raptors in 2004, including scoring a franchise record 2,070 points (25.2 ppg) in 2006-07.
Carter will become the seventh Nets player to have his jersey retired — joining former teammate Jason Kidd, as well as Julius Erving, Buck Williams, Drazen Petrovic, John Williamson and Bill Melchionni.
“I think about coming into the league, trying to be the best player you can be, you’re going through it, and then you go through a trade, and you get new life,” Carter said in a video released by the team. “Especially playing with somebody like J-Kidd, who is a Hall of Famer and a legend up in the stands, as well.
“For me to get that opportunity to be a part of the franchise, be a go-to guy was a breath of fresh air and it was fun to play with that guy because he made the game easy for me. So yes, it’s pretty dope, man. Because it’s forever up there. Nets, 15, Carter, you can’t use it again. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
