Michael Leon Carr (born January 9, 1951) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...

(NBA) and

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...

(ABA), and former head coach and

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

Playing career

In Teachey, North Carolina, Carr was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

member of Wallace-Rose Hill High School’s basketball team.Pender County’s M.L. Carr, heart-and-soul NBA champion
/ref> Afterwards, he played four years at

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society o ...

, and was then selected by the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the olde ...

of the

with the seventh pick of the fifth round of the

1973 NBA draft The 1973 NBA draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on April 24 and May 5, 1973, before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college baske ...

, though he never played for the team. He subsequently signed with the

Kentucky Colonels The Kentucky Colonels were a member of the American Basketball Association for all of the league's nine years. The name is derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. The Colonels won the most games and had the highest winning percentage of ...

but was one of the final roster cuts the Colonels made in camp, and was released. The following season, Carr played in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

for the American-owned

Israel Sabras Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in the short-lived

European Professional Basketball League The European Professional Basketball League (EPBL) was a professional basketball league held in Europe in 1975. Despite being played in five European countries ( Belgium, Israel, Spain, Switzerland and West Germany) it was for the most part ...

. For leading his team to the championship, leading the league in scoring, and emerging second in rebounding, he was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

. During the

1975–76 ABA season The 1975–76 ABA season was the ninth and final season of the American Basketball Association. The shot clock was changed from 30 to 24 seconds to match the NBA. Dave DeBusschere was the league's new commissioner, its seventh and last. This was a ...

, Carr played for the

Spirits of St. Louis The Spirits of St. Louis were a basketball franchise based in St. Louis that played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) from 1974 to 1976. This was the third and last city of a franchise that had begun as a charter member in 1967 as the ...

, averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the ABA's All-Rookie Team. The Spirits of St. Louis were one of two ABA teams (the Colonels being the other) that did not join the NBA in the

ABA–NBA merger The ABA-NBA merger was a major pro sports business maneuver in 1976 when the American Basketball Association (ABA) combined with the National Basketball Association (NBA), after multiple attempts over several years. The NBA and ABA had entered ...

, and as a result Carr joined the NBA as a member of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

from 1976–79. Upon his arrival in Detroit, he famously delivered the one-liner "Hey, since I'm here, I'm going to change my name from M. L. Carr to Abdul Automobile." During the 1976-77 NBA season, Carr played all 82 games and averaged the second most points of any Piston at 13.3, behind only

Bob Lanier Robert Jerry Lanier Jr. (September 10, 1948 – May 10, 2022) was an American professional basketball player who was a center for the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Lanier was inducted in ...

. The 1977 NBA Playoffs marked Carr's first postseason appearance, though Detroit, then in the Western Conference, were eliminated in the first round by the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...

. On December 27, 1978, Carr set a career high with 36 points scored in a win against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

. 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, Carr was signed as a free agent by the rebuilding Boston Celtics. Pistons coach

Dick Vitale Richard John Vitale (; born June 9, 1939), also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster f ...

responded by saying, "We just had the heart and soul ripped from our team." 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 owner

Harry Mangurian Harry T. Mangurian Jr. (October 1, 1926 – October 19, 2008) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Early life Mangurian was born to an Armenian immigrant Harry Sr. and his wife Ethel Roberts of Rochester, New York. Following the out ...

, head coach Bill Fitch and rookie forward

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

. Carr was instrumental in leading the Celtics' defense past the favored

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Ea ...

in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals, on the way to Boston'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 the

1984 NBA Finals The 1984 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 1983–84 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeated the West ...

versus the

Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play thei ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, 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.

Coaching career

Carr later became the General Manager of the Celtics in 1994. He later took over as coach for the 1995–96 and 1996–97 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 coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA ...

. 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 the WNBA's

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

as part of a failed attempt to become the owner of an expansion NBA team in Charlotte, along with

Steve Belkin Steve Belkin is an American businessman who is the founder of Trans National Group, travel and other services, especially to affinity groups. And a former owner of Atlanta Thrashers and Atlanta Hawks. Biography Belkin was born in East Grand R ...

and former teammate

. He was given a small investment stake in the

Charlotte Bobcats Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

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 Bobcat franchise. Carr currently resides in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

with his wife Sylvia, where he is a partner with New Technology Ventures - a tech-focused venture capital firm based in Newton.

Coaching record

, - , align="left" ,

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, align="left" , , 82, , 33, , 49, , , , align="center" , 5th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , , 82, , 15, , 67, , , , align="center" , 7th in Atlantic, , —, , —, , —, , — , align="center" , Missed playoffs , -class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 164, , 48, , 116, , , , , , —, , —, , —, , —, ,

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;", St. Louis (ABA) , 74 , , – , , 29.4 , , .483 , , .375 , , .665 , , 6.2 , , 3.0 , , 1.7 , , 0.6 , , 12.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, 82 , , – , , 32.2 , , .476 , , – , , .735 , , 7.7 , , 2.2 , , 2.0 , , 0.7 , , 13.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , – , , 32.4 , , .455 , , – , , .738 , , 7.1 , , 2.3 , , 1.9 , , 0.3 , , 12.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , – , , 40.1 , , .514 , , – , , .743 , , 7.4 , , 3.3 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.5* , , 0.6 , , 18.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 82 , , 7 , , 24.3 , , .474 , , .293 , , .739 , , 4.0 , , 1.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.4 , , 11.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

, 41 , , 7 , , 16.0 , , .449 , , .071 , , .791 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 56 , , 27 , , 23.1 , , .450 , , .294 , , .707 , , 2.7 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.4 , , 8.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , 0 , , 11.5 , , .429 , , .158 , , .741 , , 1.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 4.3 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;", † , style="text-align:left;",

, 60 , , 1 , , 9.8 , , .409 , , .200 , , .875 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 3.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 47 , , 0 , , 8.4 , , .416 , , .391 , , 1.000 , , 0.9 , , 0.5 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 3.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 678 , , 42 , , 24.2 , , .472 , , .275 , , .737 , , 4.5 , , 2.0 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 10.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 3, , –, , 37.3, , .387, , –, , .571, , 5.7, , 2.0, , 0.3, , 1.0, , 9.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 9, , –, , 19.1, , .400, , .400, , .667, , 3.7, , 1.2, , 0.7, , 0.1, , 9.1 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

† , style="text-align:left;”,

, 17, , –, , 16.9, , .416, , .000, , .750, , 1.5, , 0.8, , 0.6, , 0.4, , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 12, , –, , 25.4, , .352, , .000, , .652, , 3.6, , 2.3, , 0.9, , 0.1, , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 3, , –, , 7.3, , .250, , .000, , 1.000, , 0.3, , 0.0, , 0.7, , 0.0, , 2.0 , - , style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

† , style="text-align:left;”,

, 16, , –, , 5.1, , .406, , .333, , .909, , 0.5, , 0.3, , 0.4, , 0.0, , 2.4 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, style="text-align:left;”,

, 7, , 0, , 3.4, , .267, , .500, , –, , 0.3, , 0.1, , 0.1, , 0.0, , 1.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 67 , , ? , , 15.0 , , .382 , , .227 , , .714 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 5.3

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, M. L. 1951 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from North Carolina Basketball players from North Carolina Boston Celtics head coaches Boston Celtics players Charlotte Bobcats owners Charlotte Sting executives Detroit Pistons players Guilford Quakers men's basketball players Kansas City Kings draft picks Kentucky Colonels draft picks National Basketball Association general managers People from Barnstable, Massachusetts Shooting guards Small forwards Spirits of St. Louis players Sportspeople from Barnstable County, Massachusetts Women's National Basketball Association executives