Coming off a senior season where he'd averaged 22.5 points and 7.6 rebounds a game in a strong college program, Carr was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the first round (eighth pick overall) of the 1983 NBA draft. Carr was unable to agree to a contract with the Pistons and played the 1983–84 season in Italy with Simac Milano after the club offered him a $200,000 contract for the year. Returning to the NBA in the 1984–85 season, he played six full seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, who had acquired his rights, before moving to the Sacramento Kings in the middle of the 1989–90 campaign. While in Sacramento, Carr averaged 20 points per game and was one of the team's stars. He scored 1,551 points that season, his only time topping 1,000 points and by far his best scoring season. Carr also played for the San Antonio Spurs, where he led the team in field goal percentage. He also played a notable first-round series in 1994 against the Utah Jazz. Carr was filling in for an injured David Robinson, who had a fractured hand. Carr put on what could be considered the best games of his career, but the Spurs still lost the series 1–3. Carr was signed as a free agent by the Utah Jazz on October 29, 1994, where he was a periodic starter at the center position beside power forward Karl Malone. When not starting, he settled in as his role as the energetic and jovial sixth man. Coach Jerry Sloan utilized Carr extensively during the two years that the Jazz reached the NBA finals – relying on his experience and ability to control the ball. Carr helped the Jazz to victory in Game 5 of the 1998 Finals against the Chicago Bulls with several clutch jump shots. Carr finished his career with the Houston Rockets and Vancouver Grizzlies, playing 18 games with Houston and 21 with Vancouver in a reserve role.