The Vince Carter Jersey Retirement In Toronto Was One Of The Best Things You'll Ever See

One of the best moments of the weekend in the sports world had nothing to do with an actual game being played. 

A moment that was decades in the making, the time had finally arrived to raise Vince Carter's #15 to the rafters in Toronto, and if we're being honest it doesn't matter who your favorite team is, it was easily one of the best and most emotional number retirements we've ever had, regardless of the sport

Sorry to get emotional here on a Monday morning, but holy smokes. It's still pretty surreal as someone who grew up in the Vince Carter era that we're now at the point in life where all these guys from that era of the NBA are getting into the HOF and getting their numbers retired, and I'm not sure there was a more deserving player from that period in the league to receive this honor than Vince. 

Aside from honoring a franchise legend who changed basketball in Toronto forever, this was also one of the most cathartic jersey retirements we've ever seen. With everything that went on between Vince Carter, the fans, and the Raptors over the years, the bad breakup and the drama, it was as if it was all washed away in that moment, which I find pretty cool. As they say, time heals all wounds and that was pretty clear during that ceremony. Whatever beef or animosity there may have been is a thing of the past and I can only imagine what this moment meant to both Vince and Raptors fans everywhere. 

In terms of the actual banner, I'm ready to declare that might be the best jersey retirement banner of all time. Most franchises give you the number and the name, some franchises add you to a square with all the other retired numbers, but what Toronto did? This thing fucking rules

Not only does it celebrate an iconic player, but it incorporates perhaps the most iconic Vinsanity moment

Seeing as how Carter is the first Raptor to ever receive this honor, I love this move if this is how the Raptors plan on honoring their legends. I fully expect to see the same thing with guys like DeMar DeRozan (who was in the building for this), Chris Bosh etc. It also wouldn't shock me if other teams start to replicate this look (if this already exists somewhere, my apologies) because if done correctly, in my opinion, it plays way better than just a name and a number. Honestly, it was the perfect banner for a perfect night.

Now that the Raptors have done the right thing and raised Vince Carter to the rafters, there is only one franchise left in the league that does not have a retired number (excluding Bill Russell's league-wide number retirement), which is the Clippers. Perhaps that will be something that Steve Ballmer takes care of now that they have their own arena, maybe they give the nod to Bob McAdoo (Buffalo Braves aka the Clippers) or something? That might be a stretch, especially for the first-ever jersey retirement, even though many consider him to be a Top 3 Brave/Clipper of all time. I'm not sure any new-age player has done enough (CP3, Blake Griffin), but perhaps that could be a way for Ballmer to squash the beef with Griffin, similar to how the Raptors just did with Vince.