It's been quite a season for Vince Carter already. The NBA Hall of Famer has seen his jersey hung in the rafters of two arenas, for the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. As the calendar flipped to 2025, his legendary performance in the slam dunk contest at NBA All-Star weekend in 2000 has been celebrated for turning 25 years old.
Now, as the NBA enters this year's All-Star break, Carter will be a prominent face of TNT's coverage from San Francisco for the 2025 NBA All-Star weekend at Oracle Arena. He'll help cover the Rising Stars challenge on Friday night, then will commentate over Saturday night's Slam Dunk Contest. On Sunday, Carter will be part of pregame coverage leading into the brand-new All-Star format.
Carter spoke to Sports Illustrated about the big role he'll play for the network on All-Star weekend, what it means to be part of the festivities, the impressive longevity of his 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, and more.
Sports Illustrated: How are you feeling entering All-Star weekend?
Vince Carter: I am looking forward to All-Star weekend, which is something I haven't said in many, many years because I’ve never been a part of it since… Last year was my first time being part of All-Star weekend since the Las Vegas All-Star game, when I judged the [2007] Slam Dunk Contest together with Domonique Wilkins, Dr. J (Julius Erving), (Michael) Jordan, and Kobe (Bryant). Since then I’ve always watched from afar. All-Star Saturday is usually when my social media, my text messages—a lot happens in my direction because of that special night. I slowly but surely took a step back and watched from afar in my little bubble. I would always know the Slam Dunk Contest started because I’d get that, ‘Hey, what did you think about that dunk?’ I’m like, ‘Oh, must’ve started.’ It’s one of those things.
Then I started working with Turner and they offered me an opportunity to commentate the Slam Dunk Contest. It was fantastic. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed explaining the finer points of dunking. It’s easier to explain it on the microphone when millions of people are watching instead of texting it a million times. It was a cool moment and I was on the edge of my seat like a little kid, getting my first opportunity to watch a Slam Dunk Contest. I have a great appreciation for it. I know some people didn’t enjoy it but I enjoy talking about it, explaining it, trying to take people into the minds of what the contestants are thinking and tying it with the bow of what I think, what I see, what they should or shouldn’t have or could or couldn’t have done.
It was fun and I get that opportunity to do it again, plus call the games on Friday and be a part of the telecast on Sunday, which is major to me. Throughout the All-Star history, what Ernie Johnson, Shaq, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith have done on Sundays is iconic. I’m not saying it’s pressure, but the pressures of living up to that is a welcome challenge. It’s fun to go up there and represent the business and get the opportunity to do it honestly.
SI: What does it mean to you to be able to be part of All-Star weekend again?
VC: This is less stressful, I guess. That’s because I put so much pressure on myself, particularly in 2000, to perform. To be the best version of myself. I’m strictly thinking of that moment, that Saturday Slam Dunk Contest. I got the opportunity to be the leading vote-getter with some of the best players to ever play the game, so I guess the pressure of going out there and playing well in those years was there. But it was still basketball once we got out there. Just fun. Once you kind of go through layups and you get past starting lineups and stuff and you go play, you get that first shot or elbow from someone, you’re like, ‘Alright. This is just basketball.’ Nerves out of the way. This is kind of the same. You just go out there and, this time around, I’m trying to deliver the excitement through the airwaves. What people are seeing is one thing but you want to put some content behind it. I say brighten the picture— what we’re seeing and talking about it. Brightening the picture you’re already seeing. Talking about the game because it’s a fun time. I enjoy calling games, I enjoy talking about the game, and I get to do both between Friday and Sunday.
SI: Do you feel extra pressure to “brighten the picture” for fans with All-Star weekend receiving heavy criticism in recent years from fans?
VC: I don’t see it as pressure. Moreso, whatever we see out there, we’re just trying to make it look beautiful. Some people don’t want to hear it because they’re looking for what they want to look for. But I feel like, on Friday, you’re seeing these young talented guys, rookies, sophomores, and G-league players, who are getting the opportunity to play. They get after it a little bit. I’m hoping they get after it and our job is to continue to paint the picture they’re trying to create out there on the floor. I want to takl about what these guys are doing and how they can translate what they’re doing and this experience, getting the opportunity to play in this game, because of their play in the first half of the season and transitioning it into the second half for their teams. Things like that for Friday.
For Saturday, it’s kind of a different dynamic. The picture I want to paint there is, well, obviously it’s the Slam Dunk Contest. Which people have been griping about, but I’m excited for this year because these are four young guys that want to be in the Slam Dunk Contest. They weren’t forced. People didn’t beg them. They want to be in this contest. That is the first step into making this Slam Dunk Contest a thing again. Being the feature. That’s why it’s the last event on Saturday night. It’s the show, the grand finale. I got the opportunity to talk to the four guys and the vibe, the feeling, why I feel so comfortable saying that they want to, is just listening to these guys talk. Feeling they have something that the audience hasn’t seen before. I got the opportunity to tell these guys firsthand what the Slam Dunk Contest did for me. These guys not having the fear of failure towards their brand is refreshing to me because I think that has been the narrative for a long time for the superstars.
I use Aaron Gordon as an example. His brand did not take a hit by any means in either one of the contests that he did not win because of the show he put on. I feel like that’s what people want. They want to see a superstar who has the ability to be in the Slam Dunk Contest to go out there and put on a show. Tracy McGrady’s brand did not take a hit from his performance in the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest and we’re still celebrating the dunks and him and what he did 25 years ago. He didn’t win and he didn’t take a hit. It’s just the effort in the “want to.” It’s “want to.” I prepared. I treated the Slam Dunk Contest like it was a basketball game as far as my pregame meal, getting a nap, going there, stretching, getting ready to go. It wasn’t like going to the courts and dunking off. I treated it like a game. Guys were going after it with me. That’s what’s missing more than anything.
The times are different because of social media now or whatever, but social media was around when Aaron Gordon was in the Slam Dunk Contest and people were still talking about how he should’ve won. They just want to see you go out there and put the effort in. Some guys are going to miss dunks and stuff like that but if you prepare for it, like you practice for a game, you’re not going to win all the time but it’s the effort you give.
SI: Can you believe your epic 2000 Slam Dunk Contest has withstood the test of time to the point we’re not only talking about it but celebrating it 25 years later?
VC: Tracy and I did a feature for the anniversary and that’s one of the things we said. We did this 25 years ago. That’s a long time. That’s legal. I knew for a while people were enamored and all. I appreciated it and enjoyed it. But here we are, two decades and some change, still talking about this. I never imagined. I wanted to go out there and put on a show, be a part of history. My dream was to hold that trophy up and to win one. That we’re still talking about it is pretty cool. Pretty cool.
SI: Is there any one player you're looking forward to seeing the most on All-Star weekend?
VC: I won’t pick one, but I’m looking forward to seeing those four dunkers. I get a front-row seat to watch these four guys have an opportunity to make history. I genuinely feel like that because I got the opportunity to talk to these guys. I think Mac MacClung has put his best foot forward the last couple years, and these other three guys feel like they have something to win the contest with. I like that. These guys are on the same Zoom call, together, saying that in front of each other. Three of those guys are saying in front of Mac MacClung, who wants to go out and be the first to win three in a row. They’re not afraid to say that and that’s a great sign to me.
So that’s what I’m most looking forward to. All-Star Saturday. I can’t wait to see these guys put on a show.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Vince Carter Q&A: His Role in All-Star Weekend & His Legendary Dunk Contest .
