“Somebody Who Was as Skilled”: NBA Analyst Compares Vince Carter to Michael Jordan

Not long after Vince Carter announced his retirement from professional basketball, he earned comparisons to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan. Talking on the ESPN’s Get Up, NBA analyst Jay Williams commented on Carter and Jordan.

Carter retired from professional basketball, having played in the NBA for 22 years. He started his NBA career in 1998 with Toronto Raptors and became the only player to play in four decades as he played for Atlanta Hawks this year. Carter played six years for the Raptors before joining New Jersey Nets where he played for another five years. He later played for various teams that include Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, and Sacramento Kings.

Williams felt Vince Carter had the potential to be as good as Michael Jordan

Carter appeared in 1,541 NBA games- third-most in the all-time list behind Robert Parish (1,611) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560). Talking about Carter on ESPN’s Get Up, Williams said he had the potential to become as good as Jordan. Many consider Jordan as the best player in the NBA. And so, not many players get compared to him.

Williams felt Carter, who many feel is one of the best dunkers in the game, was probably more graceful than Jordan in the air. However, he admitted Jordan was more skillful but felt Carter always had the ability to get there.

“The interesting thing that will always be the reality about Vince is we just came off a great documentary in ‘The Last Dance’ in Michael Jordan and when you see the talent of Vince Carter, you see Michael Jordan. You see somebody who was as skilled, maybe more athletic, more graceful to a degree in the air, maybe skill-wise wasn’t all the way there as MJ was, but definitely had the ability to get there,” Williams said (H/T 247 sports).

“You always wonder if Vince was able to get it into another gear and sustain that gear, where would he be considered in the all-time greats? It would be a drastically different conversation than what we’re having right now about Vince. And it’s still respectful, it’s just what if, wow.”