Vince Carter 25,000 points: Highlighting the path to the career milestone

Carter, the fifth overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, did not make his NBA debut until February as a result of the lockout that shortened the 1998-99 NBA season to 50 games.

The Raptors travelled to Boston to take on the Celtics, who featured a highly-touted rookie of their own in Paul Pierce. Carter's first-career points came when he sank a turnaround jumper over the Celtics' lottery pick.

Carter would finish with 16 points on 5-for-11 shooting and the Raptors earned an 11-point road win to open the season.

Carter and the Raptors put the league on notice during his rookie season, but it was in his sophomore campaign that the team burst onto the national scene.

In late February, Toronto hosted the Phoenix Suns in what was the franchise's first-ever game to broadcast during NBC's prestigious Sunday afternoon timeslot.

Carter put on a show, scoring a career-high 51 points (on 17-for-32 shooting), pulling down nine rebounds and grabbing three steals to lead the Raptors to a one-point win over the Suns as millions of Americans got their first look at what was brewing in Toronto.

The 23-year-old Carter brought his career total to 2,278 points with his scoring outburst.

The Toronto Raptors 1999-00 season was one for the ages.

Not only did the team burst onto the national scene during the regular season, but it also clinched the first playoff berth in franchise history, finishing with a record of 45-37.

Down the stretch of the regular season, Carter recorded his first-career triple-double when he scored 31 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The win was Toronto's 43rd of the season and Carter's 31 points brought his career total to 2,903.

The 2003-04 season was Vince's last full year as a Toronto Raptor.

There was no shortage of ups and downs, as the team finished with a losing record (33-49) for the second consecutive season, and was the second year of a four-year playoff drought.

One of the highlights came early on in the year, in the arena in which Carter now calls home. In overtime against the Hawks, Carter nailed a game-winning jumper over two defenders for his 43rd point of the night and the 7,795th point of his career.

After scoring 9,420 points with the Toronto Raptors, Carter was dealt to New Jersey on Dec. 17, 2004.

Less than two months into the stint with his new team, Carter surpassed the 10,000 point mark with a contested shot during a Nets win over the Sixers. Not only did he reach the milestone on this night, he put forth a memorable performance as well, scoring 43 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and dishing out five assists.

Four months after being traded, Carter made his first visit to the Air Canada Centre as a member of the opposing team when the Nets came to town late in the season.

In front of a raucous crowd, Carter led New Jersey to a much-needed victory with 39 points (on 15-for-26 shooting), nine rebounds and four assists.

It was the first of four straight wins to close the season for New Jersey, who squeaked in the postseason as the No. 8 seed with a 42-40 record by virtue of a tiebreaker.

It might be the biggest in-game dunk of Carter's career.

Early on in his first full season as a Net, Vince Carter's third-quarter dunk over Alonzo Mourning gave him 19 points on the night and was the 11,081st point of his career.

Carter would go on to finish with 32 points in the Nets' one-point loss, bringing his career total to 11,094.

There must be something about playing in Miami.

In the Nets second visit to American Airlines Arena of the season, Carter tied his career-high by scoring 51 of the team's 95 points in a seven-point win over the Heat.

While Carter was just 13-for-25 from the field, he made 23 of his 24 free throw attempts to reach his high. His big scoring night brought his career total to 11,596 points.

Carter exploded for a monster triple-double with 46 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in a Nets win over the Washington Wizards.

In the 2009 offseason, Carter was traded by New Jersey to his home state of Florida and the Orlando Magic, who were coming off an appearance in the NBA Finals.

In a game that was broadcast in front of a national audience in America on TNT, the 33-year-old Carter turned back the clock, taking over with a 48-point performance on 19-for-27 shooting from the field and 6-for-10 shooting from deep, leading the Magic to a win over the New Orleans Hornets.

The most recent 40-point performance of Carter's career brought him to 18,999 career points.

In his 10th game with the Phoenix Suns, Carter scored his 20,00th point on a free throw.

The future Hall-of-Famer finished the game with 29 points to bring his career total to 20,520 points.

Carter joined the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in the offseason of 2011.

Similar to his rookie year, the season got to a late start due to a lockout. In an early season matchup with the New Orleans Hornets, a dunk over Emeka Okafor gave Carter his sixth point of the night, bringing his career total to 20,593 points.

Carter finished the night with 13 points to get to 20,600.

In his third and final season with the Memphis Grizzlies, a 40-year-old Vince Carter delivered a perfect game - literally.

In 30 minutes of action, Carter scored 24 points while shooting 8-for-8 from the field and 6-for-6 from beyond the arc as the Grizzlies cruised to a 20-point win over the Bucks, who were coached by Carter's old running mate Jason Kidd.

The flawless night from Carter brought his career total to 24,341 points.

After joining the Sacramento Kings via free agency in 2017, he began the season scoring just 52 points through 21 games.

Sacramento faced Cleveland in Carter's 22nd game of the season, where he erupted for a game-high 24 points on 10-for-12 shooting from the field, outscoring the likes of LeBron James and Kevin Love.

Carter's 24-point performance brought his career total to 24,631 points.

Vince Carter fittingly reached the 25,000 point club with a dunk in the closing seconds of a game against the Raptors - the team that he started his career with.