The 2017 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) saw the premier of The Carter Effect; a stimulating documentary, which accounts the rise of Toronto Raptors basketball and the crucial role of basketball superstar Vince Carter in the constructing of the Raptors’ brand and how he helped elevate the status of Toronto in the global pop-culture scene. Directed by Hamilton, Ontario native, Sean Menard and executively produced by non-other than Drake himself, the film has a unique flare of Canada weaved into its fabric. Naturally, the documentary has a strong base of basketball content. However, Sean Menard did a great job of implementing elements of music culture and Toronto Pride, all while highlighting the tremendous diversity that Toronto has.
The Inception
Highlighted at the beginning of the film was the inception of the Raptors franchise in 1995 and how they lacked a solid identity and were almost immediately made fun of for having a cartoon-like dinosaur on their jerseys that resembled the childhood icon of every 90s kid, Barney. Not only did it feel like they lacked an appropriate visible brand identity, but they played their first sets of home games at the massive concrete palace that was the SkyDome, now Rogers Centre. The seating was all kinds of awkward, which saw a disconnect between the crowd and the players on the court. Thankfully home games were fairly well attended but it was evident that the Toronto fans were not up to speed on basketball etiquette. It was mentioned by Canada basketball icon, Leo Rautins that they had no idea when to wave the bam-bam noise makers and ended up distracting their own players rather than visiting opponents. The product on the court wasn’t much to cheer about. The Franchise player at the time was Damon Stoudemire, who in the 1997/1998 season was dealt to the Portland Trailblazers, leaving 18-year old Tracy McGrady in the spotlight all alone. This move rendered the Raptors the youngest team in the league and made Tracy feel even more uncomfortable. McGrady was a featured quite often during the film and he added that he was rather lost in the earlier stages of his tenure with the Raptors. He was too young to go out and enjoy the city’s night life, he wasn’t used to the inclement weather and he was coming out of high school so the off-court instability affected the level of his game.
The Vinsanity Era Begins
The 1998 NBA Draft in Vancouver, B.C. was a defining moment for the Toronto Raptors. One that would change the face, status and perception of the franchise forever. The Raptors had the 4th pick in the draft and used it to obtain Antwan Jamison. With the 5th pick, the Golden State Warriors selected Vince Carter, out of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. However, as he was walking off stage, then NBA commissioner David Stern told him to stay put because a trade was about to go down. In what was then a shocking moment and still is now, the commissioner announced a trade that would see both the Raptors and Warriors swapping first round picks. Both teams got their man and the image of the Raptors was changed forever. The 1998-1999 season marked the start of the Vinsanity era in Toronto. During that offseason the Raptors added to their credibility by bringing in some key players, including a young Alvin Williams, Doug Christie and veteran Charles Oakley from the Knicks.
A confident and witty Oakley was featured in the film a few times and was able to shed some light on how he was brought in to be a veteran leader, which he took seriously. He took VC and T-Mac under his wing and made sure they were open to his leadership role if they wanted to be successful. During the period leading up to the drafting of Vince Carter, T-Mac wasn’t in the best place, but that all changed when both him and VC came to the realization that they were related to each other one day at practice earlier on in their time together. Vince Carter’s mother, Michelle Cater-Scott, spoke about how one day at practice the players were all talking about their upcoming plans and events, outside of the NBA and Vince made reference to a family reunion. T-Mac recognized the names the Vince was talking about and then all of a sudden it clicked. The two realized they were cousins. That was a galvanizing moment for both of them.
T-Mac said that having family around him at such a young age truly benefitted him and helped him feel more comfortable in a professional setting. Vince made mentions of the same thing. There was visible growth and developing chemistry between them both on and off the court. Carter came into the league with a lot more of a refined skill set than what T-Mac came in with. However, when playing together, they brought out the best of each other, especially in their second year together for the 1999-2000 season, the season following Vince’s Rookie of the Year campaign. In 2000 the duo of Vinsanity and T-Mac were playing so well that they were both selected to that season’s NBA All-Star Game in Oakland. This set the stage for what was arguably the greatest Slam Dunk Competition of all time, one that saw VC take home the title with some incredible dunks that truly affirmed his nickname, Vinsanity. Later that season with both players playing significant minutes, T-Mac mostly in a sixth man role, the team made its first playoff appearance but they were swept by the Knicks.
Departure of T-Mac
As highlighted in the film, T-Mac mentioned that as much as he enjoyed playing in Toronto with his cousin and being a part of the first team to make the playoffs in Raptors history, he needed to spread his wings and take on a new challenge with another team where he could be the main man. Carter understood and was sad about the situation but truly understood where his cousin was coming from and didn’t want to stand in the way. In the summer of 2000, McGrady joined the Orlando Magic on a six-year contract. During the film, both parties mentioned that they still cared for each other and that McGrady’s departure didn’t cause a rift between the two.
The film highlighted Vince Carter’s meteoric rise from his time with McGrady to after his departure. Carter was voted into multiple All-Star Games as a starter, recorded incredible statistics on the court and created a name for himself off the court in the business world. According to the documentary, In 2001 Vince Carter changed the face of the Toronto Nightclub scene when he invested in club on Toronto’s Richmond Street named “Inside”. This quickly became a place where NBA players and other pro athletes would come to party. Before Carter’s influence, it was commonly known that pro athletes hated coming to Toronto because the lack of night life. Carter helped change Toronto’s night life with his club and by provoking the Liquor Control Board to re-asses and re-evaluate its stance on bottle service in clubs. At that point in time, clubs in major U.S. cities were booming in bottle service but Canada was late to the party. Aside from his fame in the urban night life scene, Vince was a brand icon for Puma basketball, making the Puma Vinsanity shoe its top selling basketball shoe of all time.
The film also showed a softer side of Vince. It highlighted the amount of basketball courts that he had helped open up across the City of Toronto. He was at every court opening and was always around to play with anyone in attendance. He loved the game and loved being able to help make a difference in communities of his city. In August of 2001, Vince also started what was to be an annual Charity All-Star basketball Game at the ACC, which drew crowds of over 19,000 people on multiple occasions. People and players seemed to want to be a part of anything that Vince Carter was doing at the time. He could do no wrong!
Changing of the Guard
Usually with great highs come lows. With Vince’s dynamic and explosive style of play came some injuries. Vinsanity had his fair share of minor injuries and ailments that kept him out of an All-Star game in 2003. That 2003-2004 season wasn’t the best for Carter and the Raptors, 50 games in they were set to clinch a playoff spot, however, due to injuries sustained by VC, Jalen Rose and Alvin Williams, three of the team’s best players, the franchise’s record plummeted. As highlighted in the film, Carter was the center of all the criticism, which comes naturally when you’re a superstar on a professional sports team. During the 2003-2004 off-season, Then GM Glen Grunwald, who had helped build and shape this team, along with the entire coaching staff were fired after the end of a lackluster season. This was something that truly frustrated Carter. MLSE CEO Richard Peddie had then met with VC to assure him that the Raptors cared about him and the franchise and wanted to turn them into a contender by ensuring Julius Erving as GM. However, the Raptors ended up signing Rob Babcock on as GM and never ended up pursuing the players they had mentioned to Vince, such as Jamaal Magloire and Steve Nash. Instead, Babcock’s claim to fame was drafting Rafael Araujo instead of Andre Iguodala. With the Raptors trying to find their new identity and a superstar player being benched late in games for no reason, the media started to produce swirling stories about Vince wanting a trade or that the Raptors front office were trying to squeeze him out. Things eventually boiled over and December 18th, 2004 when the Raptors traded Vince Carter to the New Jersey Nets for what turned out to be nothing at all.
Up until recently, fans carried the perception that Vince wanted out and he demanded a trade. He was viewed as a cry baby and whiner after what had transpired between him and the team that helped him become who his is now. But after watching the documentary and listening to the likes of Richard Peddie, VC, Glen Grunwald, etc. that wasn’t the case at all. Rob Babcock seemed to have has his qualms with VC and wanted him out. Vince never wanted to go anywhere, Toronto was home for him and he wanted to be a part of the team that helped them to get back to where they were. It was Carter’s stoicism that was misinterpreted for ignorance and distaste. For years after he left Toronto, Vince was booed and showered with hate when he came back to play in Toronto and he hated it – his mother Michelle emphasized that in the film. She mentioned that it truly hurt him to hear the boos from the crowd. It took nearly ten years for the Toronto fans to officially say they moved on. In 2014, when Carter was in Toronto for a game while playing with the Memphis Grizzlies, there was lengthy and emotional applause and welcome provided to Vince. Fans were on their feet clapping and cheering for several minutes, while a teary-eyed Carter waved back and smiled. You could tell that everyone had finally moved on and Toronto was ready to welcome their former son Vince Carter back into the spotlight.
Off-Court Influence
As mentioned earlier, the films executive producer, Drake, was featured multiple times throughout the run time and he often alluded to what it was like growing up in the city during the Vinsanity era. In addition to Drake, Toronto natives Kardinal Offishall, Director X and Grammy Winning Producer Boi-1da offered up some insightful and amusing narratives throughout the film, explaining how the rise and success of Vince Carter helped them believe that they too could attain notoriety around the world though they were from Toronto. They explained how he helped put the city on the proverbial map. Drake is the perfect person to act as executive producer and to add his take because of his current status on the global scale as arguably the most popular and influential musician of this era. If I read between the lines, the film almost makes it seem that Vince Carter helped get Toronto on the map while helping pave the way for the likes of Drake and CO. Vince made it cool to go to Toronto or be from Toronto and now nobody embodies the city more than Drake himself, which has helped further elevate the status of the city and truly highlighting the Carter Effect.
FV Rating: 4/5 Stars