The 75 greatest NBA players of the 2010s, ranked

36) Vince Carter

The 2010s saw NBA legend Vince Carter enter a new phase of his career. After making eight all-star teams during the 2000s, Carter was strictly a role player in his third decade. Going from being one of the best players in the league to being the fourth or fifth option is an adjustment that many great players can't make but Carter not only did so easily but spent almost an entire decade doing so. 

Carter started the decade off with the New Jersey Nets averaging 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.7 assists at the age of 32, hinting that he still had plenty left in the tank. He was traded to the Orlando Magic in 2010 and spent a year and a half there serving as a secondary option to Dwight Howard before being shipped out to the Phoenix Suns ahead of his free agency. 

He spent just half a season in Phoenix before signing with the Dallas Mavericks, who were trying to build a cheap contender after dismantling their 2011 title team. He turned out to be a valuable addition, seamlessly moving into a sixth-man role and averaging nearly 12 points a game off the bench. 

Carter also nearly helped the Mavs topple the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2014 playoffs—the year they would go on to win the title. He would finish out the decade playing with the Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, and Atlanta Hawks, tallying 784 games and an average of 11.3 points while playing primarily off the bench. Carter would even play another year, making him one of the few players to play in four decades, and that longevity makes him a no-brainer for this list.