Hawks' Vince Carter Says He Won't 'Sell My Soul' for NBA Championship Ring

Atlanta Hawks wing Vince Carter appeared on Tip T.I. Harris' expediTIously podcast and said he isn't interested in winning a ring if it means simply sitting on the bench and watching.

"I'm not gonna quote-unquote sell my soul to get [a ring]. What I mean by that is, I feel like at this age—being 43 on the court and still being able to compete and play and do what I can do on the court. ... My thing is that if I go to another team out there that's primed and ready to win a championship, it's not guaranteed that I'm going to play, play a lot. And I can't handle that, brother. I love the game too much to just sit there and use my voice but can't use my skill on the court."

It isn't the first time that Carter, who has never won a title in his long and illustrious career, has said he isn't interested in chasing rings.

"I come from an era where that's not how it was," Carter said of ring chasing in a 2018 conference call. "So that's still instilled in me. And I don't have any problem with how it's done now. (It's) just not for me."

Carter told Harris that he has no issues serving as a mentor to his younger teammates, a role he's filled on the Hawks in the 2019-20 season. But he added that he enjoys playing the game too much to simply sit and watch, even if doing so might help him get his first title with a contending team.

Regardless, Carter's days in the NBA might be over, with no certainty on whether the NBA regular season will be played amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It's possible the league could simply bypass those games and go straight into the postseason or a play-in tournament once play resumes. If the latter occurred, the season would be over for the 20-47 Hawks.