“Didn’t Always Do It Every Night”: Former NBA Coach Explains Difference Between Michael Jordan & Vince Carter

Vince Carter was one of the best shooting guards NBA has ever seen. Carter was an instant hit in the NBA when he was drafted by the Toronto Raptors. He undoubtedly had become the best player to play for a Canadian outfit.

Former NBA coach Brian James recently spoke to NBA reporter Gordon Voit. James spoke about how good Carter was and the major difference between him and MJ.

He said, “He was such a great guy. The one thing I loved about him is he wanted the ball at the end of the game. And he made unbelievable game winning shots.”

“The one playoff series, one of my highlights. We beat the Knicks in the first round in five games and then we play Philadelphia where Vince and Allen Iverson went back and forth and it comes down to the final shot of game seven and Vince Carter misses the shot.”

He added, “The difference between Vince and Michael is that Michael is a killer. Michael would do it every night and Vince didn’t always do it every night.”

Ever since his debut with the Raptors, Carter drew comparisons with the GOAT Michael Jordan. MJ and Vince played as shooting guards for the majority of their career. Given the talent VC showed in the initial years, it was natural that a young Carter was seen as the next Jordan.

But Carter never became the best player in the league. He was surely a superstar and a regular in All-Star games, but somehow never made it across the hump to be considered as the best ever to play the game.

When 38-year-old Michael Jordan faced off against a prime Vince Carter

The 2001-2002 season saw an unexpected comeback of Michael Jordan in the NBA. He was coming off of his second retirement and was playing for a mediocre Wizards’ side.

One of the most anticipated matches of that season was when MJ faced off against a young Vince Carter, who was seen as the successor to Jordan’s throne. Carter started off the game in some fashion.

Even though MJ was defending him, Carter was just unstoppable in the offensive end as he scored 19 points in the first half. Jordan looked a bit sluggish in guarding Carter.

But he stepped it up in the second half, as Carter could only score four more points in the second half. With VC taken care of by MJ, Richard Hamilton had a very easy job in finding the basket and scored 29 points.

MJ not only clamped on Carter, he also added 21 points to the Wizards. With an amazing second half display, the Wizards came back from a 19 point deficit and beat the Raptors.

The 38-year-old Jordan put up a defensive master class against the young Carter and definitely showed his quality.