Brian James is one of the few people to have seen both Vince Carter and Michael Jordan up close. In a recent interview, he singled out differences between them.
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Currently an assistant coach with Northwestern University, James was on NBA coaching staff for a long period. He served with the Toronto Raptors from 1998-2001, and then with the Wizards from 2001-2003. In these two tenures, he coached both Vince Carter and Michael Jordan.
Thus, James has a perspective on the two most athletic guards of all time that few other people could have. The 64-year-old recently gave an interview to Gordon Voit, in which he discussed many aspects of his 18 years as an NBA assistant coach.
Brian James highlights the differences between Vince Carter and Michael Jordan
Carter had built a stupendous reputation through 4 seasons as a Tar Heel, making his own legacy at MJ’s old college. He came into the league as NBA-ready as any guard ever had been. He displayed his stupendous skills right off the bat. His most productive seasons were with the Raptors, when he was under James’s wing:
“He was such a great guy. The one thing I loved about him is he wanted the ball at the end of the game. And he made unbelievable game winning shots.”
“The one playoff series, one of my highlights. We beat the Knicks in the first round in five games and then we play Philadelphia where Vince and Allen Iverson went back and forth and it comes down to the final shot of game seven and Vince Carter misses the shot.”
“The difference between Vince and Michael is that Michael is a killer. Michael would do it every night and Vince didn’t always do it every night.”
