Arjun Menon made a bucket list at the age of 17. It included what you might expect from a young, soon-to-be-professional photographer: skydive, travel to Machu Picchu… you know, the usual.
Lower down on the list, the basketball fan in him came through as he wrote ‘watch Vince Carter play before he retires’. Menon’s profession allowed him to tick off a fair bit on the list, but he was yet to experience ‘Vinsanity’ in person.
By the time Menon orchestrated an opportunity, Carter, an eight-time All-Star, had been on the circuit for two decades. It was 2018, and Carter was with the Sacramento Kings. If social media trends were to be believed, retirement was imminent.
Menon landed up in Sacramento. His ‘All The Way From India To Watch Vince play’ signage earned him a place in the half-time show. He had a ball autographed by the legendary Vlade Divac. He then continued to watch from the stands as Carter did more (21 points, six rebounds in 27 minutes) than ‘warm the bench’ in Kings’ victory.
As Menon killed his already-low phone battery with shots of the quickly emptying venue, stadium security asked him to follow them into the Kings’ dressing room.
“Vivek Ranadive (the owner of the Kings) spotted my signage during the game,” recollects Menon. “He sat down to speak with me and said he would try and get me to meet Vince. I wasn’t sure that would happen.”
It did. “It was the stuff of dreams. I was led into the locker room and VC was surrounded by journalists. I waited for a while before he came up to me. I was speechless. He asked me a few questions and I don’t think I said anything for a while. I remember looking at him, blank. It all happened so quick. He was so kind and genuine. Sadly, I wasn’t able to take a picture with him because my phone was dead, but he retweeted me when I wrote about my experience,” he explains.
“I didn’t know if I would be allowed to take my DSLR to the venue so I left it behind, but I did get a ball signed by him,” he adds with more than a tinge of regret.
The dream had begun in 2002 when Menon took to the sport and subsequently represented Maharashtra. At the time, Carter was a phenomenon with the Toronto Raptors, he had only a couple of years ago taken the world by storm with one of the greatest displays of athleticism and grace in the dunk contest.
“He was something else. Somehow, he always gave people something to watch. He was electrifying,” says the 30-year-old from Mumbai. “I still watch the 2000 dunk contest on loop…. that first dunk (reverse 360 windmill) is the greatest dunk of all time.”
As Menon continues to list out some of his favourite Carter moments, there is plenty to choose from, it dawns on him that Carter has hung his boots. The 43-year-old retired from the sport last week after 22 years in the NBA.
“As soon as the season was called off because of the pandemic, I was sure Vince was going to call it quits. The Atlanta Hawks hadn’t made it to the playoffs so I knew. When the announcement came, it felt like the end of an era. I suddenly realised just how fleeting all these moments are.”
Menon has travelled to the far reaches of the world, including Antarctica, Fiji and South America to name a few, but none of these experiences tops a dressing-room visit where Carter came over with a smile and a ‘hello’.