Carroll played in the NBA for 11 seasons with the Grizzlies, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets and San Antonio Spurs.

[1] Carroll credits his inspiration to play basketball as his older brother DeLonte who died of a brain tumor at the age of nine.

[1][2] He earned first team All-State, All-Area, All-Region, All-District and All-Metro recognition as a junior and senior and helped JCCHS to a combined 67–3 mark his final two seasons, culminating in those consecutive state crowns.

[1] He capped his prep career by scoring a game-high 27 points in the annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game and was named MVP of the 2004 Alabama Class 6A State Tournament.

[3] After a successful sophomore year at Vanderbilt, he surprised the team when he decided to transfer to Missouri in 2006 to play for his uncle Mike Anderson.

Carroll helped lead Missouri to the Elite Eight (national quarterfinals) of the 2009 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament during his senior year.

It was ultimately determined that Carroll would possibly need a liver transplant, but not for at least 20 years after his diagnosis and most likely after the end of any potential professional basketball career.

On February 24, 2011, Carroll was traded, along with Hasheem Thabeet and a future first-round draft pick, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Shane Battier and Ish Smith.

[13] On December 23, 2014, Carroll scored a then career-high 25 points, while also grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds, in the 107–104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

[17][18] He made his debut for the Raptors in their season opener on October 28, 2015, recording 14 points and eight rebounds in a 106–99 win over the Indiana Pacers.

[24] On July 13, 2017, Carroll was traded, along with 2018 first and second round draft picks, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Justin Hamilton.