M. L. Carr
Encyclopedia
Michael Leon Carr is an American former professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 player in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

 and American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

, and former head coach and General Manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...

 of the Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which...

. He coached the Celtics for two seasons, posting a career record of 48 wins and 116 losses.

Playing career

After graduating from Guilford College
Guilford College
Guilford College, founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends , is an independent college whose stated mission is to: provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, guided by Quaker...

, Carr was selected by the Kentucky Colonels
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 any franchise in the league's history, but the team did...

 of the American Basketball Association
American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

 with the 7th pick of the 5th round of the 1973 NBA Draft
1973 NBA Draft
The 1973 NBA Draft was the 27th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on April 24, 1973 before the 1973–74 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players...

. However, he was one of the final roster cuts the Colonels made in camp, and was subsequently released. The following season, Carr played in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 for the Israel Sabers in the European Pro Basketball league. For leading his team to the championship, leading the league in scoring, and emerging second in rebounding, he was named Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...

.

During the 1975-76 NBA season
1975-76 NBA season
The 1975–76 NBA season was the 30th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Boston Celtics winning the NBA Championship, beating the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2 in the NBA Finals.-Notable occurrences:...

, Carr played for the Spirits of St. Louis
Spirits of St. Louis
The Spirits of St. Louis were one of two teams still in existence at the end of the American Basketball Association that did not survive the ABA-NBA merger. They were a member of the ABA in its last two seasons, 1974–75 and 1975–76, while playing their home games at the St...

 in the ABA, 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
ABA-NBA merger
The ABA–NBA merger was the merger of the American Basketball Association with the National Basketball Association, which after multiple attempts over several years finally occurred in 1976.- Origins of ABA-NBA competition :...

, and as a result Carr joined the NBA as a member of the Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...

 from 1976–79 and the Celtics from 1979–85. He averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during his NBA career, while being selected to the All-Defense second team during the 1979 season after leading the league in steals.

He was best known for the steal and dunk he made in Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals
1984 NBA Finals
The 1984 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1983-84 NBA season. In 1984, the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in a seven-game Finals, winning Game 7 111-102. Larry Bird averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game during the series, earning the award of...

, which sealed the victory for Boston, and eventually won a title for them. He is 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
1995-96 NBA season
The 1995–96 NBA season was the 50th season of the National Basketball Association , although the league didn't celebrate this anniversary until the following season...

 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, which some thought was an effort to get a stronger draft position and poise the team for a comeback under famed college coach Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino is an American basketball coach. Since 2001, he has been the head coach at the University of Louisville. He has also served as head coach at Boston University, Providence College and the University of Kentucky, leading that program to the NCAA championship in 1996...

. 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
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

's Charlotte Sting
Charlotte Sting
The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....

 as part of a failed attempt to become the owner of an expansion NBA team in Charlotte, along with Steve Belkin
Steve Belkin
Steve Belkin is the founder of Trans National Group, travel and other services, especially to affinity groups. He graduated from Cornell University. He has served on the Board of Trustees, and was named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year in 2004. He is a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan and lives in...

 and former teammate Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...

. He was given a small investment stake in the Charlotte Bobcats
Charlotte Bobcats
The Charlotte Bobcats is a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association. The Bobcats were established in 2004 as an expansion team, two seasons after Charlotte's previous NBA...

 when Bob Johnson was selected to have the NBA franchise in Charlotte. Subsequently, Bob Johnson sold the team and ML Carr no longer has a relationship with the Bobcat franchise.

Carr currently resides in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....

, where he is a businessman.
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