Anthony Carter

Anthony Carter is a retired professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association. He has played for teams like the Miami Heat, the Denver Nuggets, and the Toronto Raptors. He also serves as an assistant coach in the NBA. As of the 2023-2024 season, he is an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Player Profile and Personal Life

Anthony Bernard Carter was born on June 16, 1975, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He stands 185 cm tall and his weight was last listed at 86 kg. He is right-handed and he played as a point guard.

His son Devin Carter plays college basketball for the Providence College Friars.

Carter had a tough childhood surrounded by a mother, who was on drugs, and 7 uncles who were constantly in and out of prison. Members of Carter’s community realized the potential he had as a basketball player and decided to get him enrolled in Saddleback Community College.

High School and College Career

Carter went to the Crim High School where he only spent his freshman year before dropping out to play basketball. He went public saying that he would play for drug dealers who would bet money on them, giving Carter a share of the winnings.

It was, as he put it, “How we were going to make our money. We didn’t sell the drugs but used (the money) to buy food and shoes.”

For 2 seasons, Carter played at the Saddleback Community College before transferring to the University of Hawaii. Carter crossed the 1,000-point mark in his two seasons with the Rainbows and also led the all-time career stats in assists.

Professional Career

Despite going undrafted at the 1998 NBA Draft, Carter didn’t lose hope and joined the CBA with the Yakima Sun Kings. He played for one season with the Sun Kings before making his debut in the big league with the Miami Heat.

He played 79 games for Miami in his first season, scoring 6.3 points per game with 4.8 assists in just 23.5 minutes per game, coming off the bench on most occasions.

The following year, Carter played 72 games with just 6 starts, dropping from his previous season figure of 30, as his appearances and minutes per game just kept dropping. In 2001-02, he had just 46 appearances while the next year, he had 49.

At the end of the term of his contract, Carter’s agent misread his contract and denied him another year with the Heat, with more money.

But that didn’t make a difference as he had already signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs for the 2003-04 season. After firing the agent, Carter would go on to play just 5 games for the Spurs before getting injured for the rest of the season. The Spurs decided to waive him and again, Carter was looking for a new team.

Signing with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2004, Carter barely played any basketball, getting just 11.2 minutes per game in the first season and 13.1 in his next, while making just over 110 appearances in two seasons for the ‘Wolves’.

In 2007, Carter decided to leave the Timberwolves and sign with the Denver Nuggets after beginning the year with Legea Scafati in Italy. Having played just two games in 4 months for the Nuggets, before being waived off and signed again a couple of days later.

At the end of the 2008 season, despite becoming a free agent, the Nuggets quickly decided to bring him back on board for another year where he played 78 games at 5.3 points and 4.7 assists per game.

Off the court, Carter was appointed as the first-ever spokesperson for the “I Have a Dream” foundation that had adopted his class when he was in fifth grade. Carter himself donated $100,000 to the University of Hawaii to fund scholarship programs at the university.

He last played in the NBA for the Toronto Raptors. Then he retired in 2012. The next year, he was hired as an assistant coach by the Austin Toros/Spurs. From 2015-2016 he was an assistant coach for the Sacramento Kings then from 2016 to 2018, he worked as an assistant coach for the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

From 2018 to 2023, he was part of the player development team of the Heat. Then starting in 2023, he served as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Career Highlights

• 1997 - WAC Player of the Year
• 1997 - First-team All-WAC

Team History:

As a coach:

• 2013–2015 - Austin Toros / Spurs (assistant)
• 2015–2016 - Sacramento Kings (assistant)
• 2016–2018 - Sioux Falls Skyforce (assistant)
• 2018–2023 - Miami Heat (player development)
• 2023–present - Memphis Grizzlies (assistant)