The rise of the Toronto Raptors is a tale incomplete without the role of Vince Carter, regardless of a tumultuous separation after 6 back-to-back seasons. This makes the Raptors’ honorary forever retirement of Jersey No. 15  an emotional roller coaster for the NBA legend. While appreciations are poured upon the 8x All-Star, the spotlight shifts a tad to Shaquille O’Neal in sharp contrast to the reaction from another NBA veteran. 

The context lies with the Bleacher Report on Instagram sharing the event photographs with the caption: “Vince Carter’s No. 15 forever in the Toronto rafters 💜 Vinsanity becomes the first Raptor EVER to receive the honor 🙌.”  Overjoyed by this post, the former Celtics No.5 Kevin Garnett shared it to his story and wrote, “Congratulations VC🫡💯..well deserved my friend…..Beautiful 🫡💯….class of 95 🫡.” Resonating this warmth ‘Vinsanity’ reshared the story with his gratitude: “KG you are appreciated bro!!” Fans thus got a cue to explore the genuineness of their camaraderie. 

Their connection goes back to the 1995 All-Star Basketball Game where Carter began his journey as an explosive hooper by winning the Slam Dunk Contest. The former Raptors joined the game from the East roster, Garnett was there from the West roster. While they didn’t get a chance to play with the same franchise, the 20oo Sydney Olympics brought them together on the U.S. Men’s Olympics Basketball team. As history goes, this happens to be another milestone that goes on to get him the moniker ‘Air Canada’!

This was when Carter dunk over 7’2″ Frederic Weis of France. However, ‘The Big Ticket’ was quick to point out his mistake in form standing out from the crowd who appreciated it. Garnett once stated this in an interview with Slam magazine, “Congratulate him? Nah, I was just giving him some pointers. His form was off, he barely cleared the defender, and he only dunked with one hand.”

Such an honest relationship might have prompted Garnett to cheer Carter in heartfelt ways on the special day. This response however is in contrast with a contemporary being absent for a reaction. 

Yes, we are speaking of Shaquille O’Neal, another dominant figure when it comes to monstrous dunks on the court. The NBA player turned social media sensation has also refrained from engaging with his online handles for the day. This calls for a deep dive into their combined history. 

The Big O’Neal versus Vinsanity

The rookie years of Shaq, when he tore down a backboard, is enough to draw parallels with our ‘Half Man, Half Amazing’. However, Carter is someone Shaq respects as he puts it in an episode of ‘The Big Podcast‘, “I had a panel. On my panel was the guys I’m not gonna mess with: T-Mac, Vince and ‘White Chocolate’… because I used to love how they play.”

However, whenever the two come against each other, Shaq happens to be a tough defender. The Lakers vs Raptors game on November 21, 1999, is a perfect example. The game saw Shaq fouling Carter as he went to make a dunk against Los Angeles. As ‘the Big Shamrock‘ blocked the ball, he pushed along 6’6″ Vince Carter’s shoulder thereby putting him down. Does it mean the start of a feud? 

It didn’t seem like it as the ‘Big Diesel’ says on another confrontation through his time with the Miami on the same podcast: “I didn’t see him. He tried to dunk on me on that night. It hurt me to this day, I had to put him on his a–.” 

Meanwhile, Jersey No. 15 has also expressed his intentions to bring O’Neal to the Raptors. As he says, he was on the verge of making it happen, “The only time I can recall is I tried to get Shaq to Toronto. I felt like it was close. It was tough at the time, just because…a lot of guys were like, ‘What’s Canada about?’ ” It took time for the franchise to make it ‘Big’ and meanwhile O’neal got successfully paired with Kobe Bryant within the Lakers.

In case such an induction happened, many may agree that it would have been legendary. With their mutual respect, it is hard to avoid the thought of O’Neal being completely muted when an honorary milestone takes place for Vince Carter, especially given that he co-hosted ‘Inside the NBA‘ even if it was a one-time event.