Vince Carter and Walter Davis, two of the most beloved players in the history of the UNC men’s basketball program, have been elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Carter and Davis are the 13th and 14th Tar Heels to receive the honor.

Playing at Carolina under head coaches Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge, Carter was named first team All-ACC and a consensus second team All-American as a junior in 1998, leading UNC to its second consecutive Final Four appearance. He averaged 15.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while leading the league with a 59.1 field goal percentage. His spectacular dunking ability, which earned him his “Half Man, Half Amazing” nickname, no doubt helped.

The Golden State Warriors selected Carter with the No. 5 overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, though Carter was traded on draft day to the Toronto Raptors (for former teammate Antawn Jamison, no less). He immediately made an impact with Toronto, winning NBA Rookie of the Year in 1999 and the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2000. He was named to the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he helped Team USA win the gold medal. Carter provided one of the highlights of the Games by leaping over seven-foot, two-inch French center Frédéric Weis for a dunk, which the French media eventually dubbed “le dunk de la mort” (“the dunk of death”).

Carter earned eight NBA All-Star selections, All-NBA third team honors in 2000 and All-NBA second team honors in 2001. He played for eight different NBA franchises before retiring after the 2019-20 season. Carter ranks third in NBA history in games played, sixth in three-pointers made and 19th in total scoring. He averaged 16.7 points per game in his more than two decades in the pros and is a career 37.1 percent three-point shooter.

Davis, the uncle of current Carolina head coach Hubert Davis, played four seasons at UNC from 1973 to 1977. He scored more than 1,800 points for the Tar Heels, with the two most memorable ones coming on a long, buzzer-beating shot to force overtime against Duke in Carmichael Arena. Carolina had trailed by eight points with just 17 seconds remaining on the clock, but came back to defeat the Blue Devils in the extra session. In his senior year, Davis earned first team All-ACC honors and led Carolina to the national championship game.

The Phoenix Suns selected Davis with the fifth overall pick in the 1977 NBA Draft, and he played 15 outstanding seasons in the league before retiring in 1992. Davis was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1978, earned second team All-NBA honors twice and was a six-time NBA All-Star. The Suns have retired his No. 6 jersey. Davis passed away at age 69 in November.

“My uncle Walter is the reason I started playing basketball and the reason I wanted to play here at North Carolina,” Hubert Davis said. “He’s the best player I’ve ever been around and seen, and I’m so happy he’s being recognized for what an unbelievable career he had.”

Carter and Davis will be the seventh and eighth Tar Heels honored in the Hall of Fame as players, joining Billy Cunningham, Bobby Jones, Michael Jordan, Bob McAdoo, Charlie Scott and James Worthy. Larry Brown, Ben Carnevale, George Karl, Frank McGuire, Roy Williams, Dean Smith and Cunningham are honored as coaches.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

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