Vince Carter’s emotions were on full display when his jersey was being retired. The emotion was palpable right from the beginning, noticeable during a news conference before the ceremony. He became visibly emotional when asked about how his time with the Nets influenced his Hall of Fame chances. Carter felt compelled to speak about his former teammate, Jason Kidd.

He needed to talk about Lawrence Frank, his former coach.

These emotions continued to surface throughout the night at Barclays Center. Carter joined an elite group as the seventh player in Nets history to have his jersey retired.

When talking about Julius Erving, his mentor and idol who narrated a video and spoke Saturday.

When taking two steps back from the podium and listening to chants of “VC” echo through a venue filled with fans clinging to nostalgia.

“I’m so darn emotional these days,” Carter joked during his news conference, “it pisses me off.”

Throughout his career, Carter had always held arenas and the retired jerseys in high regard. These symbols represented the rich history of the game. When he joined the Nets over twenty years ago, he carried on this tradition of respecting the legacy of the game.

He saw the No. 32 of Erving. He saw the No. 52 of Charles “Buck” Williams.

The legends who’d already earned their forever place in franchise history.

Carter would always “glance up there,” and the thought of wanting to join those players, of taking his number and making it famous like his mother once told him to do, was always there.

And Saturday night, 16 years after his final season with the Nets and during halftime of Brooklyn’s 106-97 loss to the Heat, it became a reality.

“It’s always cool when guys like [Williams] say, ‘Welcome to the club,’ ” said Carter, who joined Drazen Petrovic, John Williamson, Bill Melchionni, Jason Kidd, Erving, and Williams as Nets to have their numbers retired.

On Saturday, and for good reason, the Nets were stuck in the first decade of the 2000s.

There was the framed Carter jersey. The microphone cover featuring his No. 15. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez wore a “Vinsanity” hat for his pregame news conference and called him a “once in my lifetime” player afterward, and the old New Jersey Nets logos dotted the news conference backdrop.

There, an emotional Carter reflected on the relationships that allowed his career to blossom into another tier with the Nets.

He reflected on the dunks, the moments that meshed with others on a Hall of Fame-bound journey, and wiped away tears at times with family members, including his three children, sitting in the front row.

Maybe, Carter speculated, his son Vince, if he decides to play basketball, could play for the Nets and bring No. 15 out of retirement.

“It’s pretty cool to me that I’m cool enough that he wants to wear it,” Carter said. “It would be sick, I’m not gonna lie to you. … You think I’m emotional now, that would be crazy.”

With the Nets, Carter made three All-Star Game appearances, averaged 23.6 points per game, finished third in franchise history for total points (8,834) and held the top two spots for highest-scoring seasons.

His time in New Jersey revolved around “new life,” Carter said. Kidd’s presence allowed for Carter to provide the high-flying finishes without the dribbling around to get there his role in Toronto required.

Those dunks played across the jumbotron screen during timeouts Saturday.

Kidd and Richard Jefferson provided messages via video for Carter during the ceremony, while his family joined former players and other past members of the Nets on the court for a ceremony led by YES Network play-by-play broadcaster Ian Eagle.

After his years in New Jersey, Carter played for the Magic, Suns, Mavericks, Grizzlies, Kings and Hawks before playing his final game during the 2020-21 campaign.

His perspective changed. He was no longer concerned about records or titles or anything else that occupied his mind as a young 6-foot-6 wing out of North Carolina who became the Raptors’ No. 5 overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.

“I was 40 years old, and can get a bucket on an 18- to 25-year-old,” Carter said. “I was 40 years old, 43 years old, probably in better shape than most of them. I was 43 years old. Probably knew the game better than most of them. That was kind of what I was playing for.”

Carter never played in Barclays Center as a Net. He never glanced toward the ceiling and stared at Erving’s number, at Williams’ number, at all the others before games like he did at Continental Airlines Arena.

But as his banner rose toward the roof, toward the place alongside other franchise legends he’d always dreamed of residing, Carter waved at his levitating banner, turned back to his children and waved some more as his No. 15 inched closer and closer to a forever home.