UNC Alumni in the NBA: Vince Carter turns back the clock, scores 21

Ageless Vince Carter thwarts Father Time yet again, scores 21 against Chicago Bulls

Vince Carter is 42 years of age, and the oldest active player in the NBA; but don’t bother reminding him of that.

The 21-year NBA veteran and 8-time All-Star was, at one point, one of the league’s most recognizable faces. And despite being nearly two decades removed from the Slam Dunk Contest that made him a legend, and having been a professional basketball player longer than his teammate Trae Young has been alive, Carter is still proving to be a difference-maker in his first season with the Atlanta Hawks.

And his latest performance did that yet again.

On Monday night, Carter scored a team-high — and season-high — 21 points off the Atlanta bench that helped the Hawks mount a comeback, and put Dwayne Wade’s Heat on the ropes late in the fourth quarter. His 21 points came on seven three-pointers which gave him 25,292 career points, moving him past Indiana Pacers Hall-of-Famer Reggie Miller for 20th on the all-time list.

He knocked down four first half threes, and three more after the intermission. He hit a pair of them late in the game that sparked an Atlanta run, but the Hawks simply couldn’t finish the game off, and lost 114-113.

That didn’t take away from Carter’s performance, though, hitting 7-of-11 shots from beyond the arc, and pulling down four rebounds in 26 minutes of play. It’s even more impressive considering it came just three days after he logged 45 minutes in a 168-161 four-overtime loss to the Bulls.

Carter may be old, the oldest player in the league, in fact. But he’s still got gas left in the tank, and he’s having as much fun doing it as he ever has.

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