Toronto Raptors legend Vince Carter refused to take Michael Jordan’s spot on the All-Star roster fearing exile from the league.
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Back in 2003, Michael Jordan’s career was coming to a glorious end. The living legend had by then given the NBA 14 seasons of pure magic. In fact, he had already retired twice before 2003.
But by some act of fate, perhaps MJ’s love for the game was too much, the Bulls legend kept returning to the league despite retiring twice. However, he made it amply clear that there was no coming back after 2003. His time with the Washington Wizards would be the end chapter of his epic story.
In the same year, Michael was voted behind Vince Carter on the All-Star voting. Carter, who is also a shooting guard, would have effectively taken the starting position ahead of Jordan. But the Raptors legend refused to start and urged Michael to take his spot in the starting 5.
Vince Carter refused to start over Michael Jordan
During the All-Star voting, Carter received roughly 1.3 million votes. He was behind only Tracy McGrady in the entire Eastern Conference voting. Jordan, on the other hand, received 1.08 million.
Vince Carter in an interview revealed how His Airness wanted the Raptors star to start the game. But Carter was having none of it. He recalled giving the spot to MJ. His reason for it? He would get chucked out by the league if he usurped MJ’s spot in the legend’s final All-Star appearance.
Vince: “Michael tells me no, you have earned it, you go ahead. I said ‘Mike, look here, I am not walking on this court tonight and start on this court, and you sitting on the bench. You are not about to do this to me. If I do that, i can’t play in this league anymore.”
Jordan played against Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Duncan in his final All-Star game
The 2003 All-Star was stacked with some of the most legendary players in the NBA. Michael Jordan teamed up with the likes of Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, and Paul Pierce.
On the other team were future legends Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Gary Payton, Yao Ming, and Kevin Garnett.
Teams can’t be more stacked than this. Most of these names were present on the NBA 75th anniversary list.
During the game, Michael had 20 points while Vince Carter, who played just 25 minutes, had 9 points. The West Conference won the game and Kevin Garnett won the MVP.
