Vince Carter believes younger NBA players are being affected too much by social media image
Vince Carter played one of the longest careers in NBA history, being drafted in 1998 and retiring in 2020. It was a superb career that allowed him to see all kinds of players, including the younger ones who loved being online.
At the tail end of his career with the Atlanta Hawks, it seems that Carter got annoyed at some of his teammates who were looking at their phones during halftime. They were scrolling through social media just to look at the reactions to how they were playing.
Vince Carter reveals his former teammates were on social media during halftime
Carter is definitely a member of the old guard when it comes to the NBA. However, he is pretty tapped into the modern way of playing the game and the culture. In fact, he has a podcast with his cousin Tracy McGrady, who is also a former NBA superstar.
Since Carter played longer than most players in NBA history, he got to play with all types of generations. He previously held the record for the most seasons played with 22, but that has been surpassed by LeBron James.
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With that kind of experience, Carter saw the rise of social media in daily life and amongst his teammates. Since he is mostly a classic player who wants to focus on the sport, he disliked how players were checking their phones during halftime almost every game.
"That was probably the most frustrating thing for me, year 22, going into a locker room. We’re walking into a locker room at halftime. You know that screen is there," Carter said about his experience with social media-savvy teammates.
"The film is running for halftime. These guys aren't even paying attention. They're on the phone, and the motivation is who’s saying what about them on social media at halftime."
Based on recent history, it seems that players have toned down their social media usage because of the NBA and NBPA's joint memo regarding turning their phones on during games.
Only emergency communications are allowed, so it seems Carter's thoughts on social media were warranted because even other players agreed with his sentiment.
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