TORONTO (AP) - Vince Carter doesn't want to slam any longer.
The Toronto Raptors' All-Star says he's finished with his high-flying basketball style and that he sees no need to play the way he used to.
"I don't want to dunk anymore," he told the Toronto Star. "You can make a layup and get fouled."
This is the same player who made his name in the NBA by winning the 2000 slam dunk contest. He became world famous for literally jumping over a 7-foot-2 French player to get to the hoop at the Sydney Olympics a few months later.
His name is emblazoned across expensive sneakers not because he can hit a lovely fadeaway jumper -- and he can -- but because he can jump far better than most.
During the 2001 playoffs, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated as he drove to the hoop for a dunk. And it was his dunking that led Shaquille O'Neal to dub him, "Half-Man, Half-Amazing."
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You know, two points isnt just two points. Sure on the board a layup, jump shot, and a dunk all get you two points. What about us fans tho? We all love to see dunks. If I wanted to see all layups constantly I would get season tickets to the Sparks for $150. Not only that but the momentum your team recieves when you toss down a HUGE dunk cannot be seen in stats. I can name alot of games where a dunk just shot all the air out of the other teams sails (:cough Portland cough:). That ended up being on of the deciding factors in the games.
