USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt breaks down his top five teams in the NBA so far this season. USA TODAY

MIAMI The Atlanta Hawks Cam Reddish wasnt alive when teammate Vince Carter played in his first NBA game in 1999. Atlantas Trae Young, Kevin Huerter and Bruno Fernando werent yet six months old when Carter scored 16 points in his NBA debut nearly 21 years ago.

Carter on Tuesday played in his 1,500th NBA game, joining John Stockton, Dirk Nowitzki, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Robert Parish as the only players in leaguehistory to reach that milestone.

It is a testament not only to rare longevity but his talent and ability to adjust to different roles throughout his career from lottery pick to rookie of the year to All-Star to All-NBA to reserve to veteran sage who is playing less than half the minutes he did at the peak of his NBA powers.

Basically, he was the first option, second option, third option, sixth man, seventh man, all the way down to 14th, 15th guy," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before the game, "and most guys are not emotionally stable enough to be able handle that and be willing to sacrifice and Vince has done that.

Im a big fan of his over the years just because when youre around all the time and I dont get to know a lot of people but I feel like Ive gotten to know him and hes a first-class human being and great pro (and) somebody who should be celebrated for his career for sure.

This is, by Carter's account, his final season.

Save for the two lockout seasons which cost him more games played Carter has played in at least 60 games in 17 of his 22 seasons.

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I was just trying to calculate how many more games he has than the rest of our roster combined, Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said.

Atlantas Jabari Parker, Alex Len, Evan Turner, Allen Crabbe and Chandler Parsons skew that calculation, but the point is taken. Carter has played more games than Young, Reddish, Huerter, Fernando, DeAndre Hunter and John Collins combined.

This is pretty special, Pierce said. He grew up here in the state. This is his last time playing here in Miami. Were conscious of all the last times that are coming up. Its quite an accomplishment many different teams, many different highlights, many different moments of his career, too many count, but were going to cherish and appreciate what we have this year.

Atlanta Hawks guard Vince Carter acknowledges the crowd during the first half of the game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena.(Photo: Jasen Vinlove, USA TODAY Sports)

By the time this season is over, Carter, who turns 43 on Jan. 26, should pass Stockton and Nowitzki for third on the all-time games played list, trailing just Abdul-Jabbar (1,560) and Parish (1,611).

This season, Carter should pass Alex English for No. 22 on the all-time scoring list and finish among the top-20 all-time leaders in field goals.

For the tail end of his career, Carter has been a player who has provided insight to his teammates about topics on and off the court. It's rare to get an All-Star who is willing to do that in his 40s.

Id love to talk about the value off the court later. I still need the value on the court, Pierce said. I hope theres some box score accomplishments as well and he was tremendous the other night in Charlotte.

Thats the thing. Carter can still play. He had nine first-quarter points against Miami and had 17 points in 20 minutes, 25 seconds against the Hornets on Sunday.

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Vince Carter becomes fifth player to appear in 1,500 NBA games - USA TODAY