Vince Carter made his retirement official on Thursday, announcing on his podcast that his 22-year NBA career has come to an end.

 

The announcement was largely a formality because the 43-year-old Carter had said many times over the course of this season that this would be his last in the NBA. His 22 seasons are the most in league history, and he became the first NBA player to appear in four different decades.

 

Carter appeared in 1,541 NBA games, behind only Robert Parish (1,611) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) on the league's all-time list. He started his career with the Toronto Raptors, then played for New Jersey, Orlando, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Sacramento and spent his final two seasons with Atlanta.

 

Carter was acquired by Toronto shortly after he was selected fifth overall by Golden State at the 1998 NBA draft. He played just over six seasons for the Raptors before they traded the eight-time all-star to New Jersey.

 

He was Public Enemy No. 1 in Toronto for a long time after he left, but fans have since warmed up to the man who is seen as a huge reason why Canada is now rich in young basketball talent.

 

Carter won the NBA rookie of the year award in 1999, and the dunk contest in 2000 while with Toronto.