BASKETBALL legend Vince Carter announced that he is officially retiring from the NBA after an incredible 22 seasons.

Carter announced his retirement on The Ringer's Winging It With Vince Carter podcast.

The 43-year-old baller had announced last year that he'd signed a one-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks and the 2019-2020 season would be his last. However, when the season was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was unclear whether retirement was still in Carter's plans.

He cleared up any speculation on Thursday, saying, "I'm officially done playing basketball professionally."

Earlier this month, the NBA announced plans to resume its season in July with 22 teams, but the Hawks, being out of playoff contention, were not among them, according to ESPN. The team's season came to an abrupt end on March 11 when the NBA suspended its season.

Commenting on the unexpected end to his career, Carter said he's trying to look at the bigger picture.

"If there was any disappointment because of the season – any of that – it was kind of easier to put it aside and handle it that way," he said. "It's like, OK, it's something bigger than my career."

"It's unfortunate," Carter added. "But with the coronavirus taking people's lives rapidly, that's the big picture in my mind. So I was able to put the weird ending – the abrupt stoppage of play, to an ending – aside for the big picture."

The eight-time All Star player is perhaps best known for his seven seasons with the Toronto Raptors and five seasons with the then-New Jersey Nets. In the later years of his career, he bounced around to several other teams before landing with the Hawks for his final season.

Carter played 1,541 regular-season games in total, according to the Bleacher Report, putting him in third place on the NBA's all-time list. He is also 19th on the league's all-time scoring list.

Carter is considered to be one of the greatest dunkers in the history of the game – which earned him the nickname "Vinsanity."

Winning the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in 2000 is just one entry on a long list of NBA accomplishments.

Carter made history this year when he became the league's first player to appear in at least one game in four different decades, ESPN reports. He was first drafted in 1998.

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