 Carr in 1977 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1951-01-09)January 9, 1951 (age 74) Wallace, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Wallace-Rose Hill (Teachey, North Carolina) |
| College | Guilford (1969–1973) |
| NBA draft | 1973: 5th round, 76th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Kansas City–Omaha Kings |
| Playing career | 1973–1985 |
| Position | Small forward /shooting guard |
| Number | 30 |
| Career history | |
Playing | |
| 1973–1974 | Hamilton Pat Pavers |
| 1974 | Scranton Apollos |
| 1975 | Israel Sabras |
| 1975–1976 | Spirits of St. Louis |
| 1976–1979 | Detroit Pistons |
| 1979–1985 | Boston Celtics |
Coaching | |
| 1995–1997 | Boston Celtics |
| Career highlights | |
| |
| Career ABA and NBA statistics | |
| Points | 6,759 (10.0 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 3,054 (4.5 rpg) |
| Assists | 1,336 (2.0 apg) |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Michael Leon Carr (born January 9, 1951) is an American former professionalbasketball player in theNational Basketball Association (NBA) andAmerican Basketball Association (ABA), and former head coach andGeneral Manager of theBoston Celtics.
In Teachey, North Carolina, Carr was the firstAfrican-American member of Wallace-Rose Hill High School's basketball team.[1] Afterwards, he played four years atGuilford College, and won theNAIA championship in1973.[2] He was selected by theKansas City Kings of theNational Basketball Association with the seventh pick of the fifth round of the1973 NBA draft, though he never played for the team. He subsequently signed with theKentucky Colonels but was one of the final roster cuts the Colonels made in camp, and was released.[3] Carr spent the 1973–74 season with the Hamilton Pat Pavers of theEastern Basketball Association (EBA) where he averaged 15.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.[4] He started the following season with the Scranton Apollos but departed in December 1974 to join theEuropean Professional Basketball League (EPBL).[5] Carr played inIsrael for the American-ownedIsrael Sabras in the short-lived EPBL.[6] For leading his team to the championship, leading the league in scoring, and emerging second in rebounding, he was namedMost Valuable Player.
During the1975–76 ABA season, Carr played for theSpirits of St. Louis, averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the ABA's All-Rookie Team.[3] The Spirits of St. Louis were one of two ABA teams (the Colonels being the other) that did not join the NBA in theABA–NBA merger,[3] and as a result Carr joined the NBA as a member of theDetroit Pistons from 1976–79. Upon his arrival in Detroit, he famously delivered theone-liner "Hey, since I'm here, I'm going to change my name from M. L. Carr to Abdul Automobile."[7] During the1976-77 NBA season, Carr played all 82 games and averaged the second most points of any Piston at 13.3, behind onlyBob Lanier.[8] The1977 NBA Playoffs marked Carr's first postseason appearance, though Detroit, then in the Western Conference, were eliminated in the first round by theGolden State Warriors. On December 27, 1978, Carr set a career high with 36 points scored in a win against theHouston Rockets.[9]
After being selected to the All-Defense second team upon the conclusion of the 1979 season for leading the league in steals at a career best 2.5 steals per game,[10] Carr was signed as a free agent by the rebuilding Boston Celtics. Pistons coachDick Vitale responded by saying, "We just had the heart and soul ripped from our team."[1] The Carr acquisition was one of the four major additions which immediately propelled the Celtics back to the top of the NBA standings after finishing near the bottom the previous season, along with majority ownerHarry Mangurian, head coachBill Fitch and rookie forwardLarry Bird. Carr was instrumental in leading the Celtics' defense past the favoredPhiladelphia 76ers in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals, on the way toBoston's 14th NBA championship. Playing for the Celtics until 1985, Carr averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during his NBA career.
Carr is well known for the steal and dunk he made in overtime of Game 4 of the1984 NBA Finals versus theLakers inLos Angeles, which sealed the victory for Boston, and eventually won another title for them. Carr was also famous for waving a towel during crucial situations to fire up the Celtics.[11]
Carr later became the General Manager of the Celtics in 1994. He later took over as coach for the1995–96 and1996–97 seasons. In his last year as coach, the Celtics had the worst record in team history, winning just 15 games and losing 67 in a tactical effort to get a stronger draft position and poise the team for a comeback under famed college coachRick Pitino.[citation needed] He was replaced at the end of season by Pitino, who was unable to restore the team to the glory of Carr's playing days. After the 1997 season, he became the Celtics' Director of Corporate Development.
Carr later became president of theWNBA'sCharlotte Sting as part of a failed attempt to become the owner of an expansion NBA team in Charlotte, along withSteve Belkin and former teammateLarry Bird. He was given a small investment stake in theCharlotte Bobcats when Bob Johnson was selected to have the NBA franchise in Charlotte. Subsequently, Bob Johnson sold the team and Carr no longer has a relationship with the Bobcats franchise.
Carr currently resides inMassachusetts with his wife Sylvia, where he is a partner with New Technology Ventures - a tech-focused venture capital firm based inNewton.[12]
| Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
| Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 1995–96 | 82 | 33 | 49 | .402 | 5th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Boston | 1996–97 | 82 | 15 | 67 | .183 | 7th in Atlantic | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
| Career | 164 | 48 | 116 | .293 | — | — | — | — | |||
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| † | Won anNBA championship | * | Led the league |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975–76 | St. Louis (ABA) | 74 | – | 29.4 | .483 | .375 | .665 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 12.2 |
| 1976–77 | Detroit | 82 | – | 32.2 | .476 | – | .735 | 7.7 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 13.3 |
| 1977–78 | Detroit | 79 | – | 32.4 | .455 | – | .738 | 7.1 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 0.3 | 12.4 |
| 1978–79 | Detroit | 80 | – | 40.1 | .514 | – | .743 | 7.4 | 3.3 | 2.5* | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 1979–80 | Boston | 82 | 7 | 24.3 | .474 | .293 | .739 | 4.0 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 11.1 |
| 1980–81† | Boston | 41 | 7 | 16.0 | .449 | .071 | .791 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 6.0 |
| 1981–82 | Boston | 56 | 27 | 23.1 | .450 | .294 | .707 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 8.1 |
| 1982–83 | Boston | 77 | 0 | 11.5 | .429 | .158 | .741 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 4.3 |
| 1983–84† | Boston | 60 | 1 | 9.8 | .409 | .200 | .875 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.1 |
| 1984–85 | Boston | 47 | 0 | 8.4 | .416 | .391 | 1.000 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 3.2 |
| Career | 678 | 42 | 24.2 | .472 | .275 | .737 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 10.0 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Detroit | 3 | – | 37.3 | .387 | – | .571 | 5.7 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 9.3 |
| 1980 | Boston | 9 | – | 19.1 | .400 | .400 | .667 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 9.1 |
| 1981† | Boston | 17 | – | 16.9 | .416 | .000 | .750 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 6.0 |
| 1982 | Boston | 12 | – | 25.4 | .352 | .000 | .652 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 7.4 |
| 1983 | Boston | 3 | – | 7.3 | .250 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
| 1984† | Boston | 16 | – | 5.1 | .406 | .333 | .909 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| 1985 | Boston | 7 | 0 | 3.4 | .267 | .500 | – | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 1.3 |
| Career | 67 | ? | 15.0 | .382 | .227 | .714 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.3 | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |