About Joe Barry Carroll

NBA All-Star, Philanthropist, Wealth Advisor, Publisher, Author, and Artist

Joe Barry Carroll

Recent Years

Joe Barry Carroll

Seven-foot-tall Joe Barry Carroll is a former NBA All-Star who has established himself as a wealth advisor to professional athletes, a philanthropist, artist, publisher, and the author of several books.

Joe has an affinity for story-telling and has been a featured author at the Arkansas Literary Festival, Decatur Book Festival, Georgia Center for the Book, and numerous libraries across the U.S. The self-taught artist also includes his paintings in many of his books. Joe’s work has been exhibited at Greater Lafayette Museum of Art, Historic Arkansas Museum, Hudgens Center for Art and Learning, and Purdue University.

The short documentary, Joe Barry Carroll was commissioned by the South Fulton Institute.

Early Years

Joe Barry Carroll

Joe was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and is the tenth of thirteen children. His family moved “up north” to Denver, CO when Joe was thirteen. He attended Denver East High School and joined the basketball team. Joe was recruited by the Purdue Boilermakers during his senior year and in 1976 headed to West Lafayette, Indiana.

At Purdue Joe became the only Purdue men’s basketball player to score a triple double, with sixteen points, sixteen rebounds, and a school record 11 blocks. In his junior year Joe helped the team reach the NIT finals. They became the only Purdue men’s basketball team to reach the Final Four during his senior year, and Joe was selected NCAA All-American First Team.

In 1980 Joe graduated from Purdue University Krannert School of Management with a degree in economics.

Joe Barry Carroll_NBA_Kareem Abdul-Jabbar_All-Star

NBA

#1 Overall Pick, 1980

Joe was the No 1 overall pick in the 1980 National Basketball Association Draft, selected by the Golden State Warriors. During his first season with the Warriors Joe was selected NBA All-Rookie First Team Center and over the next seven seasons with Golden State he was a member of the NBA All Star Team, Western Conference (1987), and averaged more than twenty points per game. Joe regularly appeared in NBA playoff games over his eleven-year professional career with the Warriors, Milano (Italy), the Houston Rockets, New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, and Phoenix Suns. His NBA totals are 12,455 points, 5,404 rebounds, 1,264 assists and 1,122 blocked shots, which included a career high average of 24 points in the 1983-84 season.

Philanthropy

The Joe Barry Carroll Family Foundation has supported local and national non-profit entities such as American Civil Liberties Union, Decatur Book Festival, Gateway Center, Georgia Innocence Project, Innocence Project of Florida, Ohio Innocence Project, Partnership Against Domestic Violence, Planned Parenthood SE, Repairers of the Breach, Stand up for Children, and WABE/NPR. Joe’s philanthropy began in the ‘80s with the creation of BroadView Foundation, which funded poor students, communities of color, and other nonprofit organizations.

The Joe Barry Carroll Teacher Awards was launched in 2025 with awards issued to an elementary, junior high, and high school teacher in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Each recipient received $5,000 in recognition of their dedication to educating students.

All proceeds from his book and art sales are donated to select non-profit organizations.

Joe was named “Hank Aaron Champion for Justice” by the Atlanta Braves and the Center for Civil and Human Rights. He also served on boards for the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Fulton County Housing Authority.