ATLANTA – Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle isn’t surprised that Atlanta Hawks forward Vince Carter is now in his 21st NBA season.
At 41 years old, Carter is the oldest active player in the NBA. And he just keeps beating Father Time again and again.
Carter played for the Mavs from 2011-’14 and produced some very impressive games. In the summer time he also produced some spectacular plays while participating in Dirk Nowitzki’s Heroes Celebrity Baseball Game in Frisco.
“He’s one of the most amazing athletes I’ve ever seen,” Carlisle said of Carter. “The thing about Vince is he can play virtually any sport.
“I’ve seen him play center field in the Heroes Game and hit home runs and run down fly balls and look like Paul Blair out there. He’s just an amazing athlete and he loves to play.”
Carter averaged 10.1 points in 25.3 minutes during the 2011-’12 season for the Mavs, 13.4 points in 25.8 minutes the following year, and 11.9 points in 24.4 minutes during the 2013-’14 campaign. This year he’s averaging 8.3 points in 19 minutes for the Hawks while being one of their solid locker room veterans.
“Of the guys we’ve had here the last 10-plus years that I really feel are beloved guys, Vince would be one of them because of what he did for us for three years,” Carlisle said. “He was absolutely great.
“He hit memorable shots, hit game-winners, all that stuff.”
Ironically, Dirk Nowitzki is the NBA’s second-oldest active player at 40 years old. However, Nowitzki continues to rehab his sore left ankle and will not be able to play when the Mavs (2-1) face Carter and the Hawks (1-2) at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday at State Farm Arena.
Carter was the fifth overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft, while Nowitzki was the ninth overall pick of the same draft class. The two have literally been joined at the hip.
“It’s unfortunate that Dirk can’t be playing in the game, too, and we can see both of those guys in there together,” Carlisle said. “But (Carter’s) had an amazing career.”
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