[1][2][3] In high school, Cartwright played basketball for the Elk Grove Thundering Herd under coach Dan Risley.

[7][failed verification] Cartwright was the third overall pick in the 1979 NBA draft selected by the New York Knicks, making his only career All-Star Game appearance in his first season.

[13] The Bulls were willing to part with Oakley, the league's second-leading rebounder in the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons, because of their need for a center and the rapid development of power forward Horace Grant.

During the 1992–93 season, Cartwright took an elbow to the throat during a regular-season game against the Indiana Pacers that fractured his larynx and left him with a hoarse voice.

[15] The Bulls, who were without Michael Jordan the following season following his retirement, made the 1994 NBA playoffs but were eliminated in a controversial game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Knicks.

A year after his retirement, Cartwright joined the Bulls once again as an assistant coach under Phil Jackson ahead of the 1996–97 NBA season.

The Bulls went through significant changes following the 1997–98 season, with not only Jordan and Pippen leaving, but Tim Floyd taking over as head coach from Jackson.

With Cartwright at the helm, the team won 17 of its final 28 games, including 10 straight at one point, posting a 22-30 record for the season.

[23] In September 2014, Cartwright was hired as the head coach of the Mexico men's national basketball team ahead of the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, replacing recently fired Sergio Valdeolmillos.

[25][26] Cartwright married his junior high school sweetheart, Sheri, and together they have four children (Justin, Jason, James and Kristin).