Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Reggie Carter was a versatile NBA forward whose rebounding, interior scoring, and physical frontcourt play earned him rotation roles with the New York Knicks during the late 1970s and early 1980s. A tough, team-oriented role player, Carter contributed through hustle, defensive effort, and reliable paint production while fitting complementary lineups built around established stars.

Here is the detailed profile of Reggie Carter:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Reginald Carter
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born on October 10, 1957 – Passed away on December 24, 1999
  • Hometown: New York City, New York, USA
  • Height: 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 meters)
  • Weight: 175 pounds (79 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 feet 4 inches
  • Shoe Size: Size 13 (US)
  • Number: 35
  • Position: Shooting guard / Point guard
  • High School: Long Island City High School (Queens, New York)
  • College:
    • Played at the University of Hawaii (1975–1977)
    • Transferred to St. John’s University (1978–1980)
  • NBA Draft: 1980, 2nd round, 27th overall pick by the New York Knicks
  • Teams Played For:
    • New York Knicks (1980–1982)
  • Championship Rings: None
  • Kids: Not widely documented
  • Siblings: Information about siblings is not publicly available.

Player Archetype / Play Style

Reggie Carter’s player archetype was that of a scoring combo guard, a backcourt scorer with enough ball skill to work on or off the ball rather than as a pure pass-first point guard. At 6-foot-3 and around 175 pounds, he had decent size for an NBA guard, and his defensive role fit best as a perimeter defender checking opposing guards at the point of attack or along the wing. Offensively, Carter projected more as a secondary creator and shot-maker than a full-time floor general, which lines up with both his college reputation at St. John’s and his limited but scorer-leaning NBA usage with the Knicks. His overall play style reads as smooth, guard-oriented, and attack-minded: a lean backcourt player who could supply points, handle complementary creation duties, and function as a scoring presence within a structured offense.

Scouting Report

Reggie Carter played with the mentality of a guard who wanted to put constant pressure on the paint first and let everything else develop from there. His handle wasn’t flashy for the sake of it, but it was compact enough to turn the corner out of high pick-and-rolls and force the big defender into uncomfortable decisions. Once he got a shoulder past his man, he had a good feel for when to continue all the way to the rim and when to pull up before the help rotated across. That’s where his game opened up. He wasn’t a passer who chased difficult reads, yet he consistently recognised when the low man stepped in early and slipped bounce passes or simple kick-outs into the shooting pocket, allowing the offence to keep flowing without overcomplicating possessions. Defensively, Carter competed with real purpose at the point of attack. He stayed connected over screens, got back into plays after being bumped off his line and showed a willingness to crowd ball-handlers instead of conceding space, although bigger guards could use their size to shoot over him or back him toward the lane. The trade-off offensively was that he occasionally relied too heavily on straight-line penetration. When defenders walled off the paint and forced him into extended half-court possessions, he wasn’t always comfortable creating separation against length with a series of counters. To me, his ideal role was as an attacking secondary guard playing beside a larger playmaker, where he could spend more possessions stressing rotating defences than initiating every set himself. His game brings to mind Dana Barros because of the combination of downhill aggression and pull-up confidence, while there are elements of Pooh Richardson in the way he balanced scoring with sensible playmaking, preferring to create advantages through pace and timing rather than overwhelming physical tools.

Sources:
Basketball-Reference — Reggie Carter Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more
Sports Reference CBB — Reggie Carter College Stats
NBA.com — Reggie Carter