NBA: 20 Past Players That Would Have Owned Twitter
By Bill Speros
20. M.L. Carr
During the Boston Celtics’ championship runs of the early to-mid 1980s, M.L. Carr was a fixture during big games waving towels, taunting opponents or revving up the crowd – all from the bench.
He earned the scorn of Magic Johnson and Pat Riley, among others. Carr served as an unofficial team cheerleader and instigator. Perhaps his most famous motivational moment came before Game 4 of the 1984 NBA Finals.
Boston had been manhandled in Game 3 (more on that later in this list) and the entire team was disappointed in its play and promised itself a more physical effort in Game 4.
“M.L. was working on Kevin (McHale) the whole time saying, ‘If I was in that game, I’d (take someone down),’” Cedric Maxwell recalled. “’I’ll do it, I’ll do it,’ McHale said.”
Early in Game 4, Kurt Rambis of the Lakers was headed to the basket unabated before he was nearly decapitated by McHale. It were those kind of inspirational/annoying antics that would have made Carr a magnetic character on social media.
Carr did make one crucial play for Boston in the series, sealing the team’s victory in Game 4 with a steal and layup.
Next: Far From An Easy Rider