Vince Carter has seen a lot in 23 NBA seasons.

He certainly knows what a Hall of Famer looks like.

He’s competed against them, played with them, been measured against them, dunked on them and out-lasted lots of them.

When his career is over, Carter and his 25,000-plus career points – as of now third among active players and 22nd all-time – will be headed to Springfield, joined by his 1998 draft peers, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce.

He seemed like a good person to ask, so I did.

Is Kyle Lowry a Hall of Famer?

Carter paused for a moment.

“I don’t think people will think that,” he said. “But if you look at his body of work, the accomplishment of winning a championship, an [Olympic] gold medal and now franchise leader?

“His body of work, without looking at the name you’re like, ‘For sure,’ [but] I think sometimes we get caught up in the name. And Kyle is not a top-10 player by name. But his body of work is close to top 10.”

Carter wasn’t just caught up in the moment after Lowry passed Jose Calderon for the Raptors all-time assists lead in Toronto’s Tuesday night a win over the visiting Atlanta Hawks. The Raptors guard ranks 49th all-time with 5,490 career assists with a decent chance of cracking 7,000, which would get him in the top 20. He might end up in the top 50 all-time for steals too. At the moment, he’s 93rd with 1,200.

Just imagine if there was a category for charges drawn, timely rebounds collected, races to loose balls won and opposition plays stymied before they leave their time out?

Lowry might be an easier sell in that case, but Carter pretty much nailed his overall assessment: since Lowry’s rookie season in 2006-07, he’s 11th in the NBA in accumulated WinShares. Similarly, he’s 11th over the past eight years as a Raptor – roughly Lowry’s competitive peak.

And he’s probably right about the perception issues Lowry may have to overcome in order to be recognized among the all-time greats.

Lowry’s brilliance doesn’t translate properly to traditional box score numbers and he doesn’t have a highlight reel full of jaw-dropping athletic feats. According to Basketball-Reference.com, he has two career dunks, none since he turned 22.

But there’s something about Lowry’s game that for which those in the know have a deep respect. Any Raptors fan who has been paying attention would see it too.

“He’s very crafty. He’s very smart. He’s been around a while and he’s seen a lot,” said Carter.

“He has 14 [seasons]? Something like that? That’s a lot of basketball. He’s seen a lot of basketball. He’s gone through a lot of basketball. He’s gone deep in the playoffs when you tend to learn the ins and outs,” said Carter. “The plays he was making tonight, they were just second nature: passing over the defence after makes or misses, having the confidence and the wherewithal to put the ball in the right place, and his teammates knowing where to be, expecting that.

“His basketball IQ is up there with some of the best in my opinion, and he doesn’t get a lot of credit for it [and] he still goes and plays his butt off.”

Those are all the reasons Lowry has become widely acknowledged as the best Raptor in the franchise’s first 25 years.

Carter, a golf buddy of Lowry’s and the first Raptors great, couldn’t agree more.

“For sure. He’s done a lot, he’s accomplished a lot. He’s been through the ups and downs and he’s been to the mountaintop, so that propels him right there,” said Carter, who was able to congratulate Lowry on the court after the Raptors point guard set the assist mark. “Obviously, the longer he plays here the more he’s going to accomplish wonderful feats like this. It’s well deserved. He loves to play, he’s a competitor, obviously. I’m just glad I was able to see it. I’ll talk junk to him later about it.”

But we might be getting ahead of ourselves with the Hall of Fame questions.

First things first: on Thursday night in Cleveland, if all goes well, Lowry will find out he has been chosen by the coaches as a reserve for the Eastern Conference all-star team.

It would mark his sixth straight season qualifying for the mid-season showcase and sixth overall, a remarkable feat given he didn’t make it for the first time until he was 28 years old and in his ninth season.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said it would “unfathomable” for Lowry to be overlooked on the coach’s ballot, considering he’s coming off an NBA championship, is once again leading one of the NBA’s best teams in the regular season while topping the NBA in minutes per game at age 34. Nurse also catalogued a variety of things Lowry does that help teams win that you only see if you’re paying attention.

That Lowry is the only guard in the East not starting in the All-Star Game to average at least 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a steal should help his cause as well.

But making the All-Star Game again would be another line on his burgeoning Hall of Fame resume.

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It was Lowry’s old playoff foe and Brampton, Ont., native Tristan Thompson of the Cavaliers who raised the idea a few weeks ago when he called Lowry a “Hall of Famer” adding: “He’s a (five)-time all-star, Olympic gold medalist, an NBA champ. He’s their backbone.”

Could he get the call one day?

As of now he’s got a 68 per cent chance according to Basketball-Reference.com’s probability calculation, eighth among active players.

A bell-weather for Lowry might be his friend and mentor, former Pistons star Chauncey Billups. Like Lowry, Billups’ best years came later in his 17-year career. He won a title in his seventh season and made the first of his five all-star games in his ninth year. Billups was nominated for the Hall of Fame in 2018 but has yet to be admitted.

Lowry’s career is far from done. He’s got at least one more year under contract and has expressed the desire to play until he’s 40. Given his shooting ability, leadership ability, IQ and experience, it’s hard to imagine he won’t be able to play as long as he wants to.

That’s more years to keep winning, keep building his case.

It’s been a remarkable journey to this point.

There were the uneasy early years when Lowry – acquired by trade in the summer of 2012 – freely admitted that he had no plans to be here longer than contractually obligated.

Now Lowry is in his eighth season as a Raptor and leads the franchise is assists, steals, three pointers and will soon trail only DeMar DeRozan in games played.

A franchise milestone one night, another all-star nod potentially waiting on him the next and who knows if Lowry could find his way to the Hall of Fame one day?

Wherever Lowry’s NBA journey ends up, it’s been a trip.