''The Carter Effect'' is a 2017 documentary film directed by Sean Menard. It covers the impact of

Vince Carter Vincent Lamar Carter Jr. (born January 26, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who played for 22 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He primarily played the shooting guard and small forward positions, b ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

when he was still playing for the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). The film was shown at the 2017

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

and was produced by

LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...

's digital video company, Uninterrupted. Additionally, interviews of fellow

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

stars, former teammates, family members, and people associated with the Toronto Raptors, combined with archival footage of Carter, were used throughout the movie. Notable appearances in the film include his cousin

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979), nicknamed T-Mac, is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-N ...

, Canadian basketball star

Steve Nash Stephen John Nash (born 7 February 1974) is a Canadian professional basketball coach and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played 18 seasons in the NBA, ...

, former NBA commissioner

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

, and

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

natives

Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...

and

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

Overview

The film opens with the unveiling of the new NBA expansion team, the Toronto Raptors, one of the two Canadian teams since the

Toronto Huskies The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss r ...

folded in 1947. In a country dominated by

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

, basketball tries to find its way to the hearts of Canadian families.

shares how he struggled as an 18-year old rookie out of high school to be living in Toronto and not having someone near his age to be around with. During the

1998 NBA draft The 1998 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1998, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This draft helped turn around four struggling franchises: the Dallas Mavericks, the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics, and the Tor ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, the Toronto Raptors select Carter's college teammate, Antawn Jamison, with Carter being selected next by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

before

announces the trade between Carter and Jamison. Carter announces his excitement in playing for Toronto with his cousin McGrady. Carter and McGrady form a bond and is becoming one of the best young duo in the NBA. Carter and McGrady retell the story of how they almost did not make it to the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest and how Carter have forced McGrady to join him in competing despite McGrady knowing Carter is going to win anyway. Carter impresses and becomes the 2000 Slam Dunk Champion. This made people talk about Carter and the Raptors more as Canadians become prouder of having the Raptors as their team. With

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

signing Carter to an endorsement deal, it catapulted the sneaker industry in Toronto. Carter starts to leave his footprint in the Toronto area, opening a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

where NBA players can go to when in town, inaugurating a basketball court, getting companies to endorse in basketball in Canada. The Raptors finally lands a spot on national TV against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

, they win the game and Carter was phenomenal. The Raptors reach the

NBA playoffs The NBA playoffs is the annual Playoffs, postseason Tournament#Knockout tournaments, tournament of the National Basketball Association (NBA) held to determine the league champion. Since 1949, the four-round, best-of-seven tournament is held afte ...

for the first time in franchise history but lose to the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. This marks the last time McGrady and Carter play together as McGrady leaves for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

during the off-season. Controversy surrounds Carter during the Conference semifinals at the

2001 NBA Playoffs The 2001 NBA playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000-01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadel ...

when Carter attends his

graduation A graduation is the awarding of a diploma by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it, which can also be called Commencement speech, commencement, Congregation (university), congregation, Convocat ...

ceremony at

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

in the morning of Game 7 against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

. Carter misses a potential game-winning shot and the 76ers advance to the conference finals. During the 2001 NBA off-season, Carter announces his contract extension with the Raptors. He hosts a charity game, partly to showcase to other players what the city of Toronto really has to offer even during the summer. The CEO of

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

Richard Peddie Richard A. Peddie (born January 1947) is a Canadian businessman. He is the former president and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. Career Peddie was president and CEO of SkyDome from August 1989 to 1994. In 1993, he took a leave of a ...

, hires Rob Babcock as the new

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. Injuries start to haunt Carter at the same time he begins to feel the new management is going in a different direction. Carter gets traded to the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

. Fans felt Carter wanted out, on his return game, they showered Carter with boos as the announcer introduces him as well as every time he touches the ball. It has been like that until about 10 years later, with the Raptors celebrating their 20th season anniversary, they have been playing tribute videos during home games. When Carter's team, the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

, visited, a video tribute of Carter played and the fans start to give him a standing ovation that gets Carter to tears. A wave of Canadian players start to make some noise in the NBA and the rise is being attributed to Carter's influence in the Canadian basketball scene. Canadian entertainers feel that Carter opened up opportunities for them. More and more Canadian fans are now embracing basketball and Raptors as

voices out that he respects how the fans support their team. The film ends with

asking "What if?" Carter never played for the Raptors.

Release

The film was initially released on September 9, 2017 in

at the 2017

. It was also released in the United States on April 13, 2018 at the Cleveland International Film Festival and on April 23, 2018 at the RiverRun International Film Festival. It was made available through

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

on May 1, 2018.

Critical response

The film received an unfavorable review from critic Radheyan Simonpillai of

NOW Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Na ...

, "To fill out its run time and over-emphasize its point that inceCarter put Toronto on the map not just in basketball but hip-hop culture, the film starts fumbling with facts."

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter Effect, The 2017 films 2017 documentary films Documentary films about basketball American sports documentary films Canadian sports documentary films Canadian basketball films Black Canadian films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films 2010s American films English-language Canadian films English-language documentary films

Overview

Release

Critical response

See also

References

External links