Vince Carter Playing In Four Decades Is One Of The Most Ridiculous Accomplishments In NBA History

I know this was a big football weekend, but we also had some pretty awesome NBA history with Vince Carter officially becoming the first player ever to play in four decades. We knew this was going to happen as long as he stayed healthy once he signed on to play one more year, and while it was too bad that he didn't get to achieve this against Boston to start 2020 which would have been cool since they were the team he made his NBA debut against, it happened the next night with his 18 minutes against the Pacers.

For this to happen again, we're going to need someone to play at least 22 years like Vince did, and seeing as how only 7 players in NBA HISTORY have ever played over 20, chances are pretty slim that we will ever see this milestone happen again. I know guys are entering the league young and younger and eventually they'll be able to come out of high school again but even still, to maintain the health and to have a market 22 years in is not something that just happens. You have to be a freak. Look at LeBron, he's definitely going to play at least 20 seasons but he's nowhere close to playing in 4 decades. You need the perfect combination of being drafted right at the end of a decade and then be one of the greatest to ever do it. I mean you look at the list of names that have played this long and it's Vince, Parish, Kevin Willis, KG, Dirk, Kareem, and Kobe. Outside of Kevin Willis (no disrespect) those are some of the greatest to ever do it and you can add LeBron to that list eventually. We're talking the cream of the crop which has to be a cool feeling for Vince.

For a guy that never won a ring and had no interest of ring chasing late in his career, I think it's cool that at least Vince Carter has this piece of NBA history to his name. He's a first ballot HOF player, one of the greatest dunkers the league has ever seen, and honestly I hope he keeps going. I know this is most likely his last season but what do the Hawks have to lose by always keeping a roster spot open for him? Exactly. 

It's fun to think about who might be able to achieve this next. Maybe Steph Curry? He's 31, once he plays in 2020 he'll have three decades under his belt, and I think we can see him hang around until his low 40s as long as he stays healthy. He's on that generational talent level where you could see it happening, his shot will always be money, and he's my choice for the next one we see. Maybe Harden too since he never gets hurt and has the same sort of time table while being one year younger. If you wanted to think of any young player that just got drafted, I dunno maybe Luka? The point is, history says we won't see this again or at the very least for a very long time.

And now, as always, cue the highlights