Is Shahid Afridi the equivalent of NBA's Vince Carter?

[LegendAli]

Living in Canada, the Toronto Raptors are kind of a thing.

I hadn't put too much thought into this before, most recently I was tuned in to the playoffs and watched a Vince Carter tribute, a commercial is what most would call it.

It highlighted SEVERAL legendary moments within maybe 90 seconds, then I thought to myself his stand in professional basketball, and honestly Carter would be lucky to even make it on the list of Top 100 players.

Real eye opener, kind of shocker really, that someone could supposedly be so legendary, respected by all, have his own commercial broadcasted on Live TV in 2020 outlining moments which mind you happened more than a decade ago, and still be nowhere close in the discussion of being one of the greats.

Maybe I'm losing it but the similarities are almost too eerie, if you were asked to find a player in Cricket who compares to Carter's career, In my opinion no one fits the bill better than Afiridi.

I could almost argue Dhoni possibly being another, but it's not the greatest example as Dhoni is rated quite highly in several categories and maybe be included in the list of the Top 25 cricketers, a good feat no doubt but still, Dhoni would find it difficult top make it to the Top 15, I would imagine.

Who in your opinion is the Vince Carter of professional cricket?

 

[LegendAli]

Someone who could do it all but never be there for his team in the end, Could do it all but never be consistent, Could do it all but still lacked skill and talent to get the job done to go onto possibly being one of the greats.

 

[Mamoon]

Most people here don’t follow NBA and have probably never heard of Toronto Raptors and Vince Carter.

I heard about Toronto Raptors but if I wouldn’t have read your post, I would have been unsure if it is a basketball, baseball or an American football team. Similarly, I didn’t have a clue about Vince Carter.

You should consider an equivalent of Afridi in something like football (soccer) so people here can better relate.

My point is that your thread might go to waste which would be a shame because you have made a considerable effort and it seems like a thoughtful post.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Most people here don’t follow NBA and have probably never heard of Toronto Raptors and Vince Carter.

I heard about Toronto Raptors but if I wouldn’t have read your post, I would have been unsure if it is a basketball, baseball or an American football team. Similarly, I didn’t have a clue about Vince Carter.

You should consider an equivalent of Afridi in something like football (soccer) so people here can better relate.

My point is that your thread might go to waste which would be a shame because you have made a considerable effort and it seems like a thoughtful post.

No. I don't follow NBA much but still understand his post and point as it is. He explains it sufficiently and point is clear. Afridi was more of a highlight reel player.

 

[Mamoon]

No. I don't follow NBA much but still understand his post and point as it is. He explains it sufficiently and point is clear. Afridi was more of a highlight reel player.

Anyone can understand his post but if you don’t follow NBA you cannot do justice to what he is saying because you have no personal opinion/view on Vince Carter. If you did, maybe you would agree or disagree with his premise.

 

[Rayyman]

VC is a future hall of famer

Afridi is not a terrible comparison.

I would go with Sanath Jayasuriya

 

[TeamPak95]

Raptor fan here. I can see some similarities between Vince and Afridi but overall, in terms of team accomplishments, Afridi has taken Pakistan to greater heights than Vince has for the raps.

Vince has feats like winning a rookie of the year, I believe a defensive player of the year (I think more), the slam dunk contest 2000 (if you want to count that), made a high number of all star game appearances, as well as taking the raps to game 7 vs the sixers in the second round, which the raps lost. Afridi, on the other hand, has feats that include winning a world t20 2009 for his team, man of the tournament in the 2007 world t20, captained Pakistan to the semis in the 2011 WC, one of the greatest t20 players ever (top 20 at least in my opinion) as well as scoring 8000+ ODI runs and taking almost 400 ODI wickets.

Overall, Afridi has more, better feats than Vince does even though, from a talent pov, Vince was much better.

Honestly, you may or may not agree, but I feel like a better comparison for Vince Carter would be AB De Villiers (minus test cricket).

 

[Giannis]

Well Afridi won the T20 world cup, he played a big role whereas Carter never won any titles.

 

[hafizexpress]

I agree with the above comments. Vince's accomplishments do not compare to Afridi's. Star-power maybe but overall Afridi is a more accomplished player.

Just like a comment above, I agree that AB might be a better comparison. He has all the shots and has had several highlight moments, but always fell short of major achievements and hence will never make it to the discussion of one of the greats. Afridi, at least, is one of the GOATs of the t20 format. [MENTION=143928]TeamPak95[/MENTION] thinks he's in the top 20 which was surprising to me. I definitely consider him a top 5. All-rounder with many matchwinning performances including a wc win.

 

[Lurker_Ind]

Vince carter was supposed to be one of the best when he came into the league. He failed due to injuries and lack of passion.
Afridi was never expected to be a star or superstar. He took everyone by surprise with his debut as a power hitter. After that he has shown flashes of brilliance. That’s about it.

 

[ManFan]

Perfect example! Never thought of it.

Carter is recognized universally as the greatest dunker of all time and had incredible duration playing for 22 seasons. That’s superhuman.

But like Afridi, he faded away due to a lack of motivation to be a great. Afridi gave into his caricature for commercial reasons while Carter could simply care less.

 

[Rayyman]

Raptor fan here. I can see some similarities between Vince and Afridi but overall, in terms of team accomplishments, Afridi has taken Pakistan to greater heights than Vince has for the raps.

Vince has feats like winning a rookie of the year, I believe a defensive player of the year (I think more), the slam dunk contest 2000 (if you want to count that), made a high number of all star game appearances, as well as taking the raps to game 7 vs the sixers in the second round, which the raps lost. Afridi, on the other hand, has feats that include winning a world t20 2009 for his team, man of the tournament in the 2007 world t20, captained Pakistan to the semis in the 2011 WC, one of the greatest t20 players ever (top 20 at least in my opinion) as well as scoring 8000+ ODI runs and taking almost 400 ODI wickets.

Overall, Afridi has more, better feats than Vince does even though, from a talent pov, Vince was much better.

Honestly, you may or may not agree, but I feel like a better comparison for Vince Carter would be AB De Villiers (minus test cricket).

I agree with the above comments. Vince's accomplishments do not compare to Afridi's. Star-power maybe but overall Afridi is a more accomplished player.

Just like a comment above, I agree that AB might be a better comparison. He has all the shots and has had several highlight moments, but always fell short of major achievements and hence will never make it to the discussion of one of the greats. Afridi, at least, is one of the GOATs of the t20 format. [MENTION=143928]TeamPak95[/MENTION] thinks he's in the top 20 which was surprising to me. I definitely consider him a top 5. All-rounder with many matchwinning performances including a wc win.

Lol Carter is no where near De Villiers.

Deluded Raptors fans.

I’d compare ABD to Karl Malone

 

[TeamPak95]

Lol Carter is no where near De Villiers.

Deluded Raptors fans.

I’d compare ABD to Karl Malone

At least to me, AB is a better comparison because both him and VC were ultra talented in their respective sports, it just didn't translate to proper hardware. VC in his prime was a scoring machine, AB in his prime had feats such as fastest 50, 100, 150 in ODIs. But, to each their own. AB to Karl Malone is a good shout too.

I'd say someone being a deluded Raptors fan would say stuff like the Raptors having a shot at beating LeBron's Cavs in 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as his Lakers in this years finals.

 

[Rayyman]

At least to me, AB is a better comparison because both him and VC were ultra talented in their respective sports, it just didn't translate to proper hardware. VC in his prime was a scoring machine, AB in his prime had feats such as fastest 50, 100, 150 in ODIs. But, to each their own. AB to Karl Malone is a good shout too.

I'd say someone being a deluded Raptors fan would say stuff like the Raptors having a shot at beating LeBron's Cavs in 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as his Lakers in this years finals.

You are underrating De Villers bro.

The guy is as skilled and as talented as any batsman. He had a great defensive technique and could block for hours. I have never seen another player who is elite in defense, accumulation and power-hitting. From history, only Sir Viv and Tendulkar had that ability. Yes, he does not have hardware, but he has played clutch innings in many Test matches as well as the 2015 WC Semi-Final. Forget his batting, he is an ATG fielder also. Some may say he has underachieved, but De Villiers is 12th All-Time in international runs scored.

VC was a good player, but his dunking is getting confused with his actual ability in this thread. An ATG dunker, but he was always a notch below the best players in the 2000s. Never a superstar like Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, Garnett and Nowitzki.

 

[Giannis]

I think Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Petersen are more like Carter.

 

[offstump]

I think carter is like hafeez, both played into their forties although hafeez is still going

 

[offstump]

I think Afridi was more like Carmelo Anthony.. supremely talented, flashy but frustratingly inconsistent.

 

[Rayyman]

I think Afridi was more like Carmelo Anthony.. supremely talented, flashy but frustratingly inconsistent.

Not even close.

Carmelo is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer who was unlucky to play on bad teams.

Afridi is like Andre Iguodala.

 

[Shoaibbtt]

I'd say Afridi is more like those flamboyant people like Michael Jordan, Christiano Ronaldo, Maradonna etc.

I am not saying he is of their calibre but I mean when one of those players or him done something special they'd make you never forget it. I mean can anyone not say they've not seen the following more than once on Youtube:

-4th Odi vs Sri Lanka 2011- 75 and 5/35
-Odi vs India- 102 off 45 balls (Kanpur)
-Asia cup 2014 games vs India and Bangladesh
-t20 WC 2009 semi final and final

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Wow there is so much misinformation here with regard to Vince Carter.

First of all, if people will talk about T20 WC, Vince Carter does have a title and that is the Gold Medal at the Olympics being their best player.

Alright, now to the actual comparision, it is a horrible one.

Vince Carter at his best was a superstar, a top 5 player in the world. His issue was injuries and then after that 1-2 seasons as a top 5 player, he dropped into that top 20 player category, arguably top 15 after that. He was compared to Jordan in terms of how good he was, and then the injuries and his commitment to the sport waivered and he did not reach there. Still he carved out a hall of fame career with 8 all-star appearances and an all NBA team. He was basically talent that always left you wanting, he genuinely had the skills to be the best ever. Still ending up as a hall of famer. His cricket comparison would be something ala Inzimam. Great player, hall of fame career, but due to poor taking care of his body, he didn't reach that all time great status, but still a great batsmen/player status.

Shahid Afridi was a player who was debatble to be on the team at times. Vince for all his not reaching that best of all time stature was throughout his prime an all-star, still one of the leagues best. Afridi was in and out of the team, never really a batsmen who just kept getting chance due to his one in a million century, who would fail time and time again in hilarious situations.

Afridi was a mediocre cricketer who had a 2-3 year purple patch due to being a good bowler, where he would sometimes score some runs but would still just blindly slash and hack away at the ball. He was okay in T20 because it more fit his style but again, he was really only good for a few years and there was never any talk of Afridi being an all-time great cricketer, I mean he is not even a Pakistani ATG in reality.

Anyone not Pakistani thinks Afridi is just a mediocre player who played match after match and would one in every 20 matches play a blinder, ignore those 19 matches, and think his MOMs mean he is great.

500 international matches for pretty much any cricketer will have some standout performances.

Afridi was all style with little substance, Carter was style and substance who because he didn't reach the pinnacle of the sport is thought of as a disappointment, but he was truly one of the worlds best for an extended time.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

I'd say Afridi is more like those flamboyant people like Michael Jordan, Christiano Ronaldo, Maradonna etc.

I am not saying he is of their calibre but I mean when one of those players or him done something special they'd make you never forget it. I mean can anyone not say they've not seen the following more than once on Youtube:

-4th Odi vs Sri Lanka 2011- 75 and 5/35
-Odi vs India- 102 off 45 balls (Kanpur)
-Asia cup 2014 games vs India and Bangladesh
-t20 WC 2009 semi final and final

Want to see flamboyant?

Everyone needs to watch this.

 

[CleverSir]

Please don't disrespect Vince Carter by comparing him to a player who never should've gotten more than a couple years in the national team.

 

[hasanali27]

Very thoughtful comparison this! One im surprised I never made being a Raptors and Pakistan fan all these years.

Both promised the world when they first arrived, but never quite delivered everything they were capable of.
Afridi won the World T20 and Carter won the Olymic Gold Medal.

Carter never won an NBA Title and Afridi never won the 50 Over world cup.

both made some seriously bad decisions along the way, Carter was reportedly so unhappy in Toronto towards his later years that he tipped upcoming plays to the opposition while we are all familiar with Afridi's antics such as walking away from the Test Captaincy in 2010 and Biting the ball in Aus around the same time.

The list goes on and on!

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Very thoughtful comparison this! One im surprised I never made being a Raptors and Pakistan fan all these years.

Both promised the world when they first arrived, but never quite delivered everything they were capable of.
Afridi won the World T20 and Carter won the Olymic Gold Medal.

Carter never won an NBA Title and Afridi never won the 50 Over world cup.

both made some seriously bad decisions along the way, Carter was reportedly so unhappy in Toronto towards his later years that he tipped upcoming plays to the opposition while we are all familiar with Afridi's antics such as walking away from the Test Captaincy in 2010 and Biting the ball in Aus around the same time.

The list goes on and on!

Winning a T20 WC with 5-6 competitive team means little.

I'll take Vinces gold medal away but winning an NBA title in a league of 30 teams is infinitely more difficult than winning the WC.

Another terrible part of the comparison is Vince was one of the most talented players to ever touch a court, Afridi was never that talented at all.

Vince was compared to Jordan and a true superstar at one point, did anyone say Afridi is the next Sachin? Would be laughed off at any point in his career.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Please don't disrespect Vince Carter by comparing him to a player who never should've gotten more than a couple years in the national team.

This is one of the worst comparisons I have ever seen honestly lol.

Vince was a superstar, MVP caliber player, will be a HOFer.

Vince is 19th all time in points in NBA history.

What stat is Afridi ranked in the top 100 in?

 

[Shoaibbtt]

This is one of the worst comparisons I have ever seen honestly lol.

Vince was a superstar, MVP caliber player, will be a HOFer.

Vince is 19th all time in points in NBA history.

What stat is Afridi ranked in the top 100 in?

I don't think you've read correctly. He is saying DON'T compare someone great like Vince to someone minimal like Afridi.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

I don't think you've read correctly. He is saying DON'T compare someone great like Vince to someone minimal like Afridi.

What are you talking about - that’s exactly what he’s saying.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

Also Vince would easily go down as a top 100 player lol.

Top 20 scorer ever...

 

[Shoaibbtt]

Winning a T20 WC with 5-6 competitive team means little.

I'll take Vinces gold medal away but winning an NBA title in a league of 30 teams is infinitely more difficult than winning the WC.

Another terrible part of the comparison is Vince was one of the most talented players to ever touch a court, Afridi was never that talented at all.

Vince was compared to Jordan and a true superstar at one point, did anyone say Afridi is the next Sachin? Would be laughed off at any point in his career.

I think people are just coming up with silly conclusions now, the 2 sports are totally different. I think the point is were both these guys consistently inconsistent? When they did hit big was it once in a while and in a losing position? Were they their for the time when they needed them the most? You guys are all going waaaaay too in depth with this with MVP titles and cups etc

 

[CleverSir]

This is one of the worst comparisons I have ever seen honestly lol.

Vince was a superstar, MVP caliber player, will be a HOFer.

Vince is 19th all time in points in NBA history.

What stat is Afridi ranked in the top 100 in?

That was my point my friend. I'm saying its disrespectful to Vince to be compared to a bits and pieces player like Afridi.

 

[sweep_shot]

Carter is on another level. I don't think you can compare Afridi with him.

 

[Rayyman]

This is one of the worst comparisons I have ever seen honestly lol.

Vince was a superstar, MVP caliber player, will be a HOFer.

Vince is 19th all time in points in NBA history.

What stat is Afridi ranked in the top 100 in?

VC was never a superstar/MVP caliber player.

Afridi has the 5th most ODI wickets and the 2nd most T20I wickets.

It is a pretty decent comparison, but as I said above, I think Jayasuriya-Carter is more accurate.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

I think people are just coming up with silly conclusions now, the 2 sports are totally different. I think the point is were both these guys consistently inconsistent? When they did hit big was it once in a while and in a losing position? Were they their for the time when they needed them the most? You guys are all going waaaaay too in depth with this with MVP titles and cups etc

Vince was an all star with 8 appearances in a row.

There are so many good basketball players, cricket doesn't have a huge talent pool.

Vince was voted for MVP but didn't win sure. But at his best he was consistently great, just that best of the best he didn't have for more than 2 years.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

VC was never a superstar/MVP caliber player.

Afridi has the 5th most ODI wickets and the 2nd most T20I wickets.

It is a pretty decent comparison, but as I said above, I think Jayasuriya-Carter is more accurate.

Did you just say Vince was not a superstar? He was voted in top ten in MVP, and started 6 straight all-star games (only 10 guys in the league). Vince was a superstar no question but he didn't stay top 5 for more than 2 years but stayed top 15-20 his entire prime.

T20 is a nothing sport, and he has played so many matches lol. Is he a top 10 bowler? Vince is one of the best scorers ever. Everyone knows that.

A better comparison would be Shoaib Akhtar.

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

That was my point my friend. I'm saying its disrespectful to Vince to be compared to a bits and pieces player like Afridi.

Oh I know I was agreeing haha.