THROWBACK: Vince Carter becomes Rucker Park LEGEND

It was 17 years ago yesterday, just a year into the Vince Carter era, and the legend of the rookie dunking sensation was already growing. Vinsanity was slowly starting to bloom, and with it the myths and tales that go along with any great hero. The story to Vince Carter playing at Rucker Park is one of those tales, and David Astramskas from Ball Is Life outlined the entire story in this great read you can find here.

The story of Vince Carter at Rucker Park’s Gauchos Gym is one of these myths, the type of story that fuels the hype fire. Carter has just come off his shortened rookie season, where he had consistently displayed his ability at the highest level.

Carter was in New York for a photo shoot when the opportunity to play at the legendary Rucker Park arose. Carter jumped on the Black Hand squad to take on the undefeated Vacant Lots, led by streetballer “Whole Lotta Game”.

The game started off slow, but when Vince got warm he went back and forth with Whole Lotta Game all night, until Vinsanity reared its’ head and let everyone in the gym know who ran that court.

Check out the full highlights for the game

These were the type of stunts that led to the legend of Air Canada. His performance at Rucker Park helped solidify V.C. as a promising young all-star talent, and it was this type of attention that made Vince the face of basketball in Canada.

Vince Carter was the catalyst to a culture of basketball that has developed and flourished ever since VC put on the Purple, Red and White. Without Canadian kids tuning into Vinsanity on their televisiosn growing up, it is safe to say Canada basketball would not even be close to where it is today.