At age 35, Vince Carter isn't leaping tall buildings in a single bound anymore. Sure, he still gets up for a highlight-reel dunk here and there. But those are coming fewer and further between. Carter's diminishing athleticism seemed evident during the third quarter of Dallas' 110-100 win over Sacramento on Tuesday.
With Tyreke Evans defending him at the top of the key, Carter used a quick fake to get past him, opening up a wide open lane to the basket. The 13-year veteran took one step in the paint and went up for the dunk, but seeming to change his mind in mid-air, Carter instead attempted a finger roll.
That didn't work.
The ball went straight up into the air and the came down without hitting the rim. And, no, it wasn't a swish. To his credit, Carter grabbed the offensive rebound, but of to the surprise of NBA fans everywhere, the referee actually called traveling.
Carter ran back on defense with a smile on his face after his flub. Just a few minutes later, he got a measure of redemption by throwing down a monster dunk over Kings forward Hassan Whiteside.
Wait, what? He can still do that?