The Toronto Raptors will officially retire Vince Carter’s No. 15 pick in a ceremony during the team’s home game on Saturday night, making him the first player in franchise history to receive the honor.

Carter was the team’s first superstar, thrilling fans with his high-flying, athletic play and leading the Raptors to their first victory. winning seasons. In his six years with the Raptors, Carter’s rise to fame on what would become Canada’s only NBA team also helped boost the popularity of basketball across the country.

During a press conference before Saturday’s game against the Sacramento Kings at Scotiabank Arena, Carter fought back tears several times as he reflected on his time in Toronto.

“I don’t know what to expect,” Carter said of the planned halftime ceremony. “A celebration of the time I spent (in Toronto) is what I’ve always wanted.”

A restored relationship

Carter acknowledged that his relationship with the Raptors organization and its fans has had its ups and downs over the years, but said he felt things had healed in the two decades since he left the team.

Carter entered the NBA in 1998 as a Toronto Raptor and immediately became a fan favorite with his highlight reel dunking, which won him the league’s Rookie of the Year award that season. In his second year, Carter led the team to its first-ever winning season and playoff appearance.

LOOK | Vince Carter becomes the first Raptors player to have his jersey retired:

Vince Carter’s Influence: Celebrating a Raptors Icon as His Jersey Retires

Former Raptors player Jerome Williams and host Chuck Swirsky discuss why Vince Carter was crucial to the Raptors organization.

He would take the Raptors to the playoffs two more times, famously missing a chance at the buzzer in a 2001 elimination game that would have sent the team to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Over the next few years, Carter’s relationship with the franchise and its fans deteriorated, with critics accusing him of abandoning the team in 2004, shortly before he was traded to the New Jersey Nets.

Years later, Toronto fans would often boo Carter when he returned to play against the Raptors.

But things started to change in 2014, when Carter, then playing for the Memphis Grizzlies, received a standing ovation from Raptors fans after a video tribute to him during a regular season game.

Still, some fans and media personalities remain bitter toward Carter, and the impending retirement of his number has sparked some backlash.

“I understand why people were sad,” Carter said of his departure from the team.

But Carter said he felt like Saturday’s ceremony undermined his experience with the Raptors organization in the best way possible.

“VC sucks at congratulations. That’s all I want,” he said.

Asked about his impact on Canadian basketball and the number of Canadian players who have come to the NBA in recent years, including current Raptors Kelly Olynyk and RJ Barrett, Carter said his Canadian contemporaries were the ones who showed how far basketball players from this country could go.

“Rick Fox, Steve Nash … they set the precedent of what can happen,” Carter said. ‘I was just a small piece of the puzzle’

Carter still holds the Raptors’ single-season scoring record with 27.6 points per game in 2000–01. He ranks fourth in franchise history in career scoring with 9,420 points.

An eight-time all-star and 22-year NBA veteran, Carter was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in October.

Carter said he chose number 15 in high school after his role model Julius Irving’s number was already taken.

“I don’t remember why I chose 15, but I’m glad I did,” he said. “My mom told me, hey, pick a song, make it famous.”