Most Despised Former Raptors Star?

[kuntrykong]

I voted McGrady.

I obviously hate the way that Carter and Bosh left town, but I can at least understand their reasoning.. Bosh especially.

But T Mac.. He could see the potential, and he chose to rob the city of a title so that he could be the top dog somewhere. His pride cost us a title.

Someday I'll clap for Vince and Bosh because of what they did while they were here, but I'll never be able to respect McGrady.

preach!

[Dino4life]

I get that people were mad at Vince in 2004, but seriously hasn't it been long enough ?

I just dont get how people can forget what Vince did for this franchise. Mighty Mouse was great but we were gonna follow the raptors anyways because they were new. Vince made cheering for a bad team enjoyable. Vince raised the popularity of the raptors INTERNATIONALLY. Now i swear non-canadian media go out of their way not to mention the raptors EVER. They'll talk about any other lottery team a little, but forget the raptors.

If you were a raptor fan back then, you can't tell me Vince didn't make you proud to be Fan. You can't tell me you weren't glued to your TV scared to go pee, because you might miss something Half-man Half Amazing. You can't tell me you forgot where you were when you saw the slam dunk contest, you can't tell me you forgot everyone trying to mimick him at the park the next day. You can't tell me you forgot how you jumped out your chair when he Dunked over, and i do mean OVER a 7 footer in game during the Olympics. I remember buying my Vince Carter poster and putting it right next to Shawn Kemp and Karl Malone.

That Loyal Fan Base that kept BC in office for 7 years because the money never stopped coming, Vince built it, not BC, not Bosh, not Bargnani, Vince. I have no doubt in my mind without Vince there is a strong possibility we'd be the Memphis raptors.

And for the record, the day before he got traded, he went to Babcock and apologized saying he wanted to make it work, and genius thought the best thing to do was trade him for a bag of chips the next day.
And that interview when he said he wasn't trying, he was saying his talent and athleticism carried him in the beginning, he didn't have to start working hard until he started to get injured. Never was it mentioned he stopped trying because he wanted out of Toronto, its the Media's job to twist words just to get peoples attention, just look at all the misleading headlines over at ESPN that keep changing every 2 hours untill they find one that gets them a lot of views.

Yeah it sucks how he left, but does that 1 bad memory really overshadow all the good ones.

[isaacthompson]

I voted McGrady.

I obviously hate the way that Carter and Bosh left town, but I can at least understand their reasoning.. Bosh especially.

But T Mac.. He could see the potential, and he chose to rob the city of a title so that he could be the top dog somewhere. His pride cost us a title.

Someday I'll clap for Vince and Bosh because of what they did while they were here, but I'll never be able to respect McGrady.

Wolstat interviewed McGrady today:

McGrady said Toronto would have been a championship contender had he stayed.

— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) June 7, 2013

Easy for him to say this now, just looking back on it. But it still makes his departure that more confusing.

[drunkmunky]

McGrady & VC together would have continued to develop into one HELL of a team.

[Apollo]

Wolstat interviewed McGrady today:

McGrady said Toronto would have been a championship contender had he stayed.

— Ryan Wolstat (@WolstatSun) June 7, 2013

Easy for him to say this now, just looking back on it. But it still makes his departure that more confusing.

He said the same thing during his OTR interview a few years back.

[ceez]

I couldn't pick between Vince or Bosh. Both make my blood boil.

I can KIND of see why Vince stopped caring but at the same time he's a professional and if someone in the real world started mailing it in they'd be fired. The biggest thing with Vince is he's still the closest thing we've ever had to a franchise guy and i think i speak for everyone when i say i loved him, loved watching him play and felt inVINCEable when he was on. like, we could beat any team in their own gym if vince was feeling it. in his prime he was incredible to watch. but then he stopped caring and became a cancer and i get why but c'mon man. it's totally jilted lover type stuff but whatever! i have feelings too!

bosh was just a primadonna who LOVED the spotlight and was always looking for where the grass was greener, it seemed. he was certainly talented and everything but yeah i wouldn't even call him a top 3 talented raptor and lets be honest the list isn't that great. the way he left was dirty. you can make a case that it wasn't but fuck your case he's a dickhead and there are few players in the league i despise more than him. when he got robbed earlier this year i laughed long and hard.

[The Great One]

Chris Bosh.

Can't hate on Vince(my all time favorite Raptors player). He's a guy that puts Canada in the NBA map. And unlike Bosh, Vince in his prime was a LEGIT talent. A true superstar. Can't say the same thing about Bosh.

Bosh since day 1 i always felt was overhyped or overrated. Not really a true superstar. More of a #3 on a great team.

[Miekenstien]

No one is voting for Mighty Mouse so I think we've established that it takes a player a full 16 years to be forgiven by Toronto fans. That means Vince Carter will safely be able to walk down Young St. in the year 2021.

i was never angry with damon. him i understand most of all. he was pretty much the only player who knew how to play basketball on those early teams. our team started and we got screwed on the expansion draft, the league learnt its lesson and changed the rules for the next expansion teams. we got screwed again with bosh and now the league knows how to treat star players who don't sign. we are the flagship of spurned virgins in this league.

i voted vince. he had his say in almost all aspects in team make up, that fucking press conference with hakeem still makes me sick and then when it didn't pan out he started crying and complaining because we didn't hire dr. j. that guy is the worst.

t-mac is a player who was young and about to get paid. here in toronto he would have got the run off pussy vince left for him, like the diner that takes the overflow customers of the good lunch joint. he thought he would be top dog with hill, who should have been the best player of his generation, i understand that.

bosh i hate because we can be pretty sure him, wade and lebron planned that way way before and then lip serviced everyone to get their way. we all know those guys. they are in every office. smiling talking friendly and then wham right in the back. they are the "it's just business" guys.

mourning, anderson and davis are ignorant assholes.

[Apollo]

Can't hate on Vince(my all time favorite Raptors player). He's a guy that puts Canada in the NBA map.

I never get this statement. What does that really mean? Nobody wants to player here and he sure as hell left in a fashion the helped it along in that direction. The Raptors have never been on "the map" in my opinion. A couple memorable years and that's it.

- Carter demanded a trade.
- Carter tanked games.
- Carter clearly exaggerated an injury.

All this totally killed any leverage the Raptors could hope to have in a trade. Carter put the franchise back years.

[The Great One]

I never get this statement. What does that really mean? Nobody wants to player here and he sure as hell left in a fashion the helped it along in that direction. The Raptors have never been on "the map" in my opinion. A couple memorable years and that's it.

- Carter demanded a trade.
- Carter tanked games.
- Carter clearly exaggerated an injury.

All this totally killed any leverage the Raptors could hope to have in a trade. Carter put the franchise back years.

Raptors were irrelevant in the NBA world before they got Carter in 98. Nobody knows where Toronto is. Nobody cares about the Raptors, heck even fans in Toronto doesn't care about the Raptors. Most(not all) of Torontonians back then were Bulls fans. ACC only gets filled up whenever Michael Jordan and the Bulls comes to town(can't really blame them).

Then Carter arrived in 98-99. Won the Slam Dunk Contest. He didn't just win it he put on a show. Vince Carter's #15 Raptors jersey sales that time was off the hook. Top selling jerseys for years. Most popular player in the world. Highest vote getter in all-star game history(i think he still holds that record, not sure). Most of the Raptors games that time was televised nationally on NBC. Every game at the ACC was sold out. Carter's popularity soared even higher after that epic playoffs against the Sixers in 2001. Everybody was expecting big things after that series, everybody became a Raptors fan, lots of bandwagoners lol, Toronto is not irrelevant anymore. Unfortunately everything went downhill after that 2001 playoffs against the Sixers.

Anyhow, Carter also made a HUGE impact in Canadian basketball. I truly believe basketball in Canada became popular NOT because of Steve Nash and his two MVP's(it helped). Basketball in Canada became popular because of Vince Carter. All these up and coming young Canadian baller today, you ask them why basketball and not hockey. I guarantee most of them will say they grew up watching Vince Carter and the Raptors. Heck, some of the great young American players in the game today were Raptors fans growing up like Kevin Durant. Why? because of Vince Carter.

Nothing fires me up than a Vince Carter topic. I became a Raptors fan because of him. And i truly believe that his #15 should be up there in the rafters.

[Apollo]

Raptors were irrelevant in the NBA world before they got Carter in 98. Nobody knows where Toronto is. Nobody cares about the Raptors, heck even fans in Toronto doesn't care about the Raptors. Most(not all) of Torontonians back then were Bulls fans. ACC only gets filled up whenever Michael Jordan and the Bulls comes to town(can't really blame them).

Then Carter arrived in 98-99. Won the Slam Dunk Contest. He didn't just win it he put on a show. Vince Carter's #15 Raptors jersey sales that time was off the hook. Top selling jerseys for years. Most popular player in the world. Highest vote getter in all-star game history(i think he still holds that record, not sure). Most of the Raptors games that time was televised nationally on NBC. Every game at the ACC was sold out. Carter's popularity soared even higher after that epic playoffs against the Sixers in 2001. Everybody was expecting big things after that series, everybody became a Raptors fan, lots of bandwagoners lol, Toronto is not irrelevant anymore. Unfortunately everything went downhill after that 2001 playoffs against the Sixers.

Anyhow, Carter also made a HUGE impact in Canadian basketball. I truly believe basketball in Canada became popular NOT because of Steve Nash and his two MVP's(it helped). Basketball in Canada became popular because of Vince Carter. All these up and coming young Canadian baller today, you ask them why basketball and not hockey. I guarantee most of them will say they grew up watching Vince Carter and the Raptors. Heck, some of the great young American players in the game today were Raptors fans growing up like Kevin Durant. Why? because of Vince Carter.

Nothing fires me up than a Vince Carter topic. I became a Raptors fan because of him. And i truly believe that his #15 should be up there in the rafters.

I agree Carter had a big impact on basketball in Canada but Toronto was already on the map. We're not talking about some small town here, we're talking about the largest city in Canada which held two other major pro sports franchises, one in which only recently created some of the most memoriable modern day moments in pro baseball. If you're going to start this stuff about "Carter put Toronto on the map" then yeah, you're half right... JOE Carter put Toronto on the map with a generation of Americans. Joe already beat Vince to it only Joe actually did something of consequence. Nobody will forget Joe in the world series but what is the memory of Vince in Toronto? Winning a competition that means nothing? Or maybe it's his complete lack of professionalism in his final half season in Toronto?

I would argue that had Carter not arrived someone else at some point would have had success. If Carter hadn't shown up McGrady probably would have stayed because it would have been "his team" and so what you would have maybe ended up with was McGrady leading a team of Antwan Jamison, along with Davis, Oak, etc. and they still would have went on and won some playoff games.

Yeah, I get he won the dunk competition and I get he was an exciting player but the detriment he did to the franchise on the way out hurts his positive impact. The team never truly recovered. I wouldn't have minded him leaving if he hadn't done it in the manner he chose. It was completely disrespectful and selfish. He showed his true colors.

[Craiger]

I agree Carter had a big impact on basketball in Canada but Toronto was already on the map. We're not talking about some small town here, we're talking about the largest city in Canada which held two other major pro sports franchises, one in which only recently created some of the most memoriable modern day moments in pro baseball. If you're going to start this stuff about "Carter put Toronto on the map" then yeah, you're half right... JOE Carter put Toronto on the map with a generation of Americans. Joe already beat Vince to it only Joe actually did something of consequence. Nobody will forget Joe in the world series but what is the memory of Vince in Toronto? Winning a competition that means nothing? Or maybe it's his complete lack of professionalism in his final half season in Toronto?

I would argue that had Carter not arrived someone else at some point would have had success. If Carter hadn't shown up McGrady probably would have stayed because it would have been "his team" and so what you would have maybe ended up with was McGrady leading a team of Antwan Jamison, along with Davis, Oak, etc. and they still would have went on and won some playoff games.

Yeah, I get he won the dunk competition and I get he was an exciting player but the detriment he did to the franchise on the way out hurts his positive impact. The team never truly recovered. I wouldn't have minded him leaving if he hadn't done it in the manner he chose. It was completely disrespectful and selfish. He showed his true colors.

Very much agree. We often see talk about the importance of keeping things "close to the chest", as to not hurt a players trade value - so how much impact did Vince publically demanding a trade hurt his value, let alone not trying on the court?

I don't think Babcock gets a gimmie on the Vince Carter deal (it was terrible in general, included a player who publically said he wasn't going to come and in the teams own division), but I also don't think Carter was nearly as valuable by that point as he would have been earlier under Grunwald (who, according to more recent reports was fired shortly after revisiting a Nash + others deal for Vince)

Vince wasn't only selfish and disrespectful to the team and fans, he down right hurt his value, and thereby the franchise through his play. He's not alone in all that (himself, Babcock, and MLSE all bear responsibility), but there is no question in my mind he had a huge impact on it.

[Craiger]

He said the same thing during his OTR interview a few years back.

I may be wrong here, but as I remember the OTR episode (assuming it was the same one - with Vince, TMac and Oakley), Michael Landsberg brought up that Kobe claimed Toronto would have been a contender if Tmac had stayed, and TMac replied he'd never heard that before.

Not that it matters much, but makes me wonder if TMac never clued into that until then, and is now trying to find a way to build some sort of legacy for himself

[white men can't jump]

I may be wrong here, but as I remember the OTR episode (assuming it was the same one - with Vince, TMac and Oakley), Michael Landsberg brought up that Kobe claimed Toronto would have been a contender if Tmac had stayed, and TMac replied he'd never heard that before.

Not that it matters much, but makes me wonder if TMac never clued into that until then, and is now trying to find a way to build some sort of legacy for himself

Yeah....I don't know if anyone will care about who T-Mac was in 10 years. People who saw him will remember him as a great player at the time, but what did he accomplish? Nothing.

I wonder if T-Mac will ever make it to the HOF. I have less doubts about Vince. He was a huge phenomenon in basketball. Vince is the guy that kept the game growing in popularity between MJ and LeBron. He might not ever get in for his playing accomplishments, but could easily get in for "contributing to the game". T-Mac? He never won. He was not a distinct/special character in the league. I mean, what justification would there be to induct him? Some high scoring seasons where he was shooting a high volume?

TMac is easily the former Raptor I hate the most. Guy was an idiot, plain and simple. He sabotaged his own career with poor decision and a lack of commitment to staying healthy. I mean, the guy's younger than Kobe and Vince, but looks about 2 decades older.

[Mr.Z]

I voted Bosh just because he's a bigger pussy than anyone else on the list.

Imagine what could have been. Check the stat lines at the end of this video, it's insane.