Austin Carr is a beloved member of the Cleveland Cavaliers as the current-day Cavaliers color commentator. However, he was an incredible player for the franchise also.
The Cavs used the number one overall pick in the 1971 NBA Draft on the Notre Dame guard, and it was a wise decision.
In his rookie season, despite only appearing in 43 games, Carr was named to the All-Rookie team. He averaged a whopping 21.2 points-per-game that season according to Basketball-Reference.
Carr joined the number seven player on this list, Bingo Smith, on the 1971-72 Cavs team, and as mentioned before, they struggled. Carr and Smith were two of the bright spots during the early Cavaliers’ years.
Though the first few years were tough, the Cavs had a three-year playoff stretch, and a lot of that was due to the play of Carr. The Cavs even made the conference finals, falling to the Boston Celtics in 6 games in the 1975-76 season.
Carr battled a knee injury early in his career so it didn’t finish as it had started. Carr still had solid per-game averages over nine seasons in Cleveland of 16.2 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists according to Basketball-Reference.
His career as a player, in addition to his color commentating, make him a fan favorite in Cleveland, and after the passing of his friend and long-time broadcasting partner Fred McLeod, he is who Cavalier fans will look to help them through not having McLeod on the microphone early in the season.