Almost every year you see NBA teams with at least one older veteran on the roster. The Phoenix Suns have Tyson Chandler, Cleveland Cavaliers have Richard Jefferson, Miami Heat still has ‘Mr. Miami’ Udonis Haslem on the team, Paul Pierce just played his last NBA game as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers and Nick Collison is the lone survivor on the Oklahoma City Thunder following the franchise move from Seattle over a decade ago. Some of these veteran players have important roles on the court, others have important roles off the court as mentors and locker room leaders. For Vince Carter, his time on the Memphis Grizzlies showed he took on a little bit of both but he took it a step further this season.
Carter, the oldest player to suit up for the 2016-17 season, was an important role player for the Grizzlies all the way through their playoff run. Vinsanity might not be the same athlete or scorer that he once was but he’s still finding some way to contribute on the court. Off the court, he’s been a role model to some younger guys and even spent some time in the preseason with them at a WWE event.
Members of the Memphis #Grizzlies were in attendance at Monday Night #RAW last night! pic.twitter.com/6eruJRfYZK
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) September 20, 2016
Going out as a team is awesome, that’s for certain. But Carter took his leadership and mentor role to new heights this past season when he took Grizzlies rookie big man Deyonta Davis under his wing. Davis, a rookie out of Michigan State, bounced between the NBA and the D-League all season, never having a true role with Memphis given the team’s current front court log jam. But despite Carter being twice Davis’ age, not playing the same position and not even being from the same area in the country, the two bonded. According to Grizzlies head coach David Fizdale, Carter built a brand new room in his house just for the rookie to come and visit whenever he wanted.
