The world record holder for the most points scored in Test matches (1598) is the most obvious statistic to support any claim for Carter's greatness, but adding some overseas context to his quality is highly regarded South African columnist Mark Keohane.
In the latest issue of SA Rugby Magazine, Keohane ran the rule over all the first five-eighths he has seen playing in all the major rugby stadiums of the world since 1995 and said that Carter is the most complete fly-half he has seen in the professional era.
"Carter played the game as if he was never in a hurry. The pass, the kick, the run – always in sync.
"He could play 10 or 12. He could tackle like a loose forward. And he did it all with the poise of someone who looked immune to the pressure and pain of Test rugby.
"Carter owns the record for most Test points scored, but his goal-kicking was a given. What completed him was every aspect of his game.
"When people ask who the best is that I have seen – the best of the best – I don't hesitate: Dan Carter.
"Carter won two World Cups and got to 112 Tests in a 15-year Test career. He wrote his own coronation."
Keohane made his comment as a forerunner to citing Springbok five-eighths Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu as a player capable of reaching the heights Carter achieved.
"Don't read this as me thinking he is a Carter impersonator; rather, he has every quality that Carter showed in a 112-Test career.
"That is the potential of Feinberg-Mngomezulu. That is why the hype is justified, even if the coronation is premature.
"Feinberg-Mngomezulu is into his second year of Test rugby. He has been anointed, but the royal capping will only come with his last act in Test rugby.
"Hopefully, for pure pleasure and spectator joy, his is a Carter-type 15-year Test career."