Atlanta Hawks: 5 reasons to be excited for 2019-20 NBA season

5. Vince Carter is back!

That’s right Hawks fans! You guys are getting another season of future Hall of Famer Vince Carter! So get ready for more age-defying dunks in practice!

Considering the numbers he put up last year — 7.4 points per game on 56.5 percent true shooting with .070 win shares per 48 minutes (WS/48) — Carter is a far cry from the player he once was, but his willingness to accept a lesser role with an avoidance of any major injuries has allowed him to age gracefully over his two-decade career.

Nobody expects him to do much more than fill the same mentor role for a Hawks team that was the sixth-youngest in the league last year and has only gotten more youthful over the summer. He’ll also give them a few minutes of reliable floor spacing, having shot 38.9 percent from 3-point range in 2018-19. He even flashes some of what made him “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” if he’s stored up enough energy.

Once Carter announced his intentions to play one final season, re-signing him was a no brainer for the Hawks. The players like him, he still has usable basketball skills, and it maintains the camaraderie the team cultivated last year. Plus he can slide into the broadcast booth whenever he’s DNP’d. It’s a positive for everyone involved.

At the very least, he should enter the dunk contest this year so we don’t have to watch John Collins try and fail to jump over a model plane.