On Thursday afternoon, Vince Carter’s 21-year career came to a conclusion. Carter ends his career with the Atlanta Hawks, who were one of the eight teams left out of this year’s NBA playoff tournament. Carter leaves the NBA with numerous accolades: eight-time NBA All-Star, 1998-99 NBA Rookie of the Year, and two-time selection of the All-NBA Team. But what Carter was most famous for was posterizing dunks. Vince Carter was the NBA Slam Dunk champion in 2000 with one of the greatest performances in contest history. It wasn’t his fancy dunks that he’ll be known for, though. The 2000 Sydney Olympics is where we would behold his masterpiece.
Let’s all take a break from #CoronaSZN and #RiotSZN and pay tribute to the man known as Air Canada to relive the “Dunk of Death.”
The Day of the Game
The day was September 25, 2000, and the United States and France faced off in their final preliminary round game in Group A. The United States was breezing through the preliminaries like in previous Olympic games. This game would basically be the final act before another gold medal. Entering the game, Carter was averaging 13.3 PPG. Two days before, the NBA stars whooped on New Zealand for a 46-point win to capture Group A. This game was the icing on the cake.
The United States was in control early in the second half and we’ll get to the dunk in a moment. But let’s take a look at Vince Carter’s dunk murder vict – I mean opponent.
Frederic Weis, We Hardly Knew Ye
Frederic Weis measured at 7’2” and helped CSP Limoges win the French League title and the French Cup in 1999. In 2000, the then-22-year old center entered the NBA Draft. The New York Knicks, in their infinite wisdom and glory, drafted the Frenchman with the 15th overall pick. Weis must have done something amazing to impress Knicks’ management. The bottom line was that the Knicks were looking for the heir apparent to Patrick Ewing. This was following a miraculous playoff run in the strike-shortened 1998-99 season. Weis was selected to France’s men’s Olympic basketball team and he was having a pretty good tournament until the final game of the preliminary round.
Vince Carter et <<Le Dunk de la Mort>>
The United States took a lead into the locker room. The Americans looked to go into cruise control for a sure victory in the early part of the second half. Guard Gary Payton missed a layup – though you could argue a French defender fouled him – and France F Yann Bonato picked up the rebound. Bonato attempted a highlight clip of his own with a behind-the-back pass to start a fast break. Carter snuffed out the pass and picked it off at 16:04, took a couple of dribbles, and drove toward the basket.
Weis was waiting for Carter, who, six inches shorter, launched from the floor and kept going up… and up… and up…
(BAH GAWD HE’S DEAD!!!!)
Following the dunk, Vince Carter mugged for his teammates while teammate forward Kevin Garnett gave him a forearm shiver. The guard yelled out “WHAT?!?!?” before – and this is the amazing part – going back on defense. French sports media named Carter’s dunk, <<Le dunk de la mort>> or, “The Dunk of Death.”
The Aftermath
The dunk was deadly in two ways: the first was the dunk itself. It’s so filthy that I’m surprised that YouTube hasn’t labeled it as straight up pornography – yet. The dunk ended any chance at a France comeback and the United States won the game by 12. Carter wasn’t the leading scorer that game but he had four steals, which tied for the most in a single game during the tournament.
The other death knell was Weis’ prospective NBA career. The Knicks reportedly never made an attempt to bring Weis in. The dunk painted Weis as a weak defender. Weis moved on from Limoges to Greece, then spent the majority of his career in Spain before retiring in 2011. Uniquely enough, the Knicks still retained Weis’ rights for eight more years despite never bringing him over to the NBA. His rights were traded to Houston in 2008 for Patrick Ewing, Jr.
Six days after their meeting, the two teams met again in the gold medal game and the United States won their 12th gold medal.
The Dunk Immortalized
The most devastating dunk in basketball history by Vince Carter will live on far after we have all left into the celestial plane. Although Carter would never win an NBA Championship – he came close with the New Jersey Nets twice – he did help the United States win their 12th gold medal. But the fact that this dunk defined his entire career is not only amazing but gravity-defying.
Best wishes and thanks for the fun, VC.
What’s your favorite Vince Carter memory? Leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter, @WhoIsRyanMcC. And for more NBA talk, check out the Hardcourt Hunnies podcast – only on Belly Up Sports!
