With his contract expiring in September, Vince Carter was among former NBA players who did not see their deals renewed by ESPN. As the Worldwide Leader revamps its basketball coverage—adding the likes of Andre Iguodala, Austin Rivers, and reigning WNBA Coach of the Year Stephanie White—the 46-year-old Carter was among those cast off from the network.
We now know the next step, as Carter appears to be going back to his roots. According to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, the former ESPN analyst will be joining the YES Network for a handful of Brooklyn Nets games this season.
While Carter spent the most seasons (7) with the Toronto Raptors, he’s perhaps more known for his time with the then-New Jersey Nets. Playing alongside Richard Jefferson and Jason Kidd, Carter averaged 23.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game across five seasons.
Following Kidd being shipped off to the Dallas Mavericks, the Nets traded Carter, along with Ryan Anderson, to the Orlando Magic. In return, the Nets received Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee. In a long line of bad moves, trading Carter away was one of the worst moves in franchise history. The Magic traded for Carter, hoping he could provide All-NBA center Dwight Howard with a perimeter scorer, after being ousted in five games in the 2009 NBA Finals by the Los Angeles Lakers.
Carter will have a chance to be reunited with his former teammate in Richard Jefferson, as he and Sarah Kustokk will remain the analysts on the bulk of Nets’ telecasts, per Marchand.
Carter appeared on several ESPN shows, which included, but were not limited to, NBA Countdown, College GameDay, NBA Today, Get Up, First Take, and SportsCenter. Carter also worked remotely, so it was a bit difficult for him to be at the forefront of any of the network’s studio shows.
His most memorable moment at ESPN came when he was on the set of First Take alongside Jack Harlow and Sinqua Walls, who were in the studio to promote their new reboot of White Men Can’t Jump. The conversation curiously turned to Frédéric Weis, and the White Men Can’t Jump stars relished the opportunity to roast Weis, even as Carter detailed his troubled life after the “Dunk of Death.”
As Marchand mentions, Carter isn’t the only new addition to the Nets’ TV booth. Noah Eagle, the son of longtime Nets play-by-play voice Ian Eagle, will be featured on play-by-play when his father and Ryan Ruocco are both working nationally.
In any event, Carter looks to be the latest former NBA player to revive his broadcasting career at YES, and Regional Sports Networks across the United States.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.