10 NBA players who turned their back on their franchises
By Cal Durrett
![Kawhi Leonard, Paul George Kawhi Leonard, Paul George](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3336,h_1876,x_0,y_182/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/GettyImages/mmsport/307/01hpta0ge7nw50wpjvpd.jpg)
6) Vince Carter
Former NBA star Vince Carter played for a total of eight teams during his Hall of Fame-caliber career, but he is synonymous with the Toronto Raptors. When the Raptors were still finding their footing after expansion, Carter was their first superstar and got Toronto fans hooked on basketball.
Despite spending his first seven seasons there and putting up big numbers, Carter admitted that he didn't try his hardest toward the end of his tenure and was ultimately traded to the New Jersey Nets, where he immediately dialed his effort back up.
That understandably didn't sit well with Raptor fans, who felt that their best player had given up on the team. However, when Carter returned to Toronto eight years later with the Memphis Grizzlies, he was initially booed before a video tribute moved him to tears, proving that he still cared about the Raptors.
Raptors fans began to cheer him on, suggesting that he had finally been forgiven. Carter would go on to play another 15 seasons after leaving Toronto and more than 1500 games in total. Although he didn't retire as a member of the Raptors, he is forever linked to the franchise.