Wendell Andre Carter Jr. ( ; born April 16, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

High school career

Carter attended Pace Academy in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. As a sophomore, he averaged 21.3

points per game Points per game, often abbreviated PPG, is the average number of points scored by a player or team per game played in a sport, over the course of a series of games, a whole season, or a career. It is calculated by dividing the total number of poi ...

, 12.3

rebounds per game 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 4.1 blocks while leading the Knights to a (27–3) record and a Georgia 6AA regional title. Carter would continue to develop his game during the summer of 2015 where he led his AAU team, Georgia Stars, to a Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Peach Jam championship and was named Co-MVP alongside Jared Harper. after his sophomore season, Carter also earned the Georgia Region 6 AA Player of the Year and second-team Atlanta Tipoff Club All Metro-honors. In his junior season in 2015–16, he averaged 21.6

and 13.6

. In the state finals game, Carter scored 30 points and recorded 20 rebounds to lead Pace Academy to win the 2016 Georgia class AA state Championship. He was named an honorable mention All-American by the Naismith Trophy, a first-team Junior All-American by MaxPreps, the Georgia Class AA Player of the year, the Atlanta/South Fulton Player of the Year, and a first-team all-state selection as a junior. In the spring and summer of 2016, Carter competed for the AAU team, Team CP3 sponsored by

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

point guard

Chris Paul Christopher Emmanuel Paul (born May 6, 1985), nicknamed "CP3" and "the Point God", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded by some as one of the greatest p ...

. He averaged 16.8 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game on the Nike EYBL Circuit, earning second-team All-EYBL honoree. As a senior, he averaged 22.7

points A point is a small dot or the sharp tip of something. Point or points may refer to: Mathematics * Point (geometry), an entity that has a location in space or on a plane, but has no extent; more generally, an element of some abstract topologica ...

, 15.5 rebounds, and 5.8 blocks while leading the Knights to a Georgia class 3A state championship on March 9, 2017. Carter was named Georgia All-Classification Player of the Year, Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year, first-team All-America honors from the Naismith Trophy, second-team accolades from USA Today, and third-team recognition from MaxPreps. Carter played in the Jordan Brand Classic,

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demons ...

, and the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

, where he finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Off of the court, Carter was named the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year, which goes to student-athletes who exemplify outstanding character, leadership, and academics. He earned a 3.8 GPA in high school and won his school's Lance and Shield Award as a top scholar-athlete. Carter was rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 4 overall recruit and No. 1 power forward in the 2017 high school class. Following high school, he was named to the All-Tournament Team of the 2016 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in July 2017. Carter ultimately chose to play at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

despite considering the opportunity to enroll and play at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

College career

Before the start of his freshman season, Carter was projected to start at power forward for the 2017-18 Blue Devils forming a frontcourt tandem with

Marvin Bagley III Marvin Bagley III (born March 14, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils men's basketball, Duke Blue Devi ...

. Carter was also named to Naismith, Robertson, and Malone preseason watch lists. On November 18, Carter scored 20 points and 11 rebounds in a 78–61 victory over Southern. On November 20, Carter was named ACC rookie of the week. Against the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, he had a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds despite being in foul trouble to lift Duke in a 91–81 win. On December 20, 2017, Carter scored a career-high 27 points in a 104–40 blowout win against

Evansville Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...

. On December 26, 2017, Carter earned his second ACC rookie of the week honor. On January 20, 2018, Carter tallied 21 points in an 81–54 victory against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. On January 24, 2018, Carter scored 23 points and 12 rebounds in an 84–70 win over Wake Forest. On January 29, 2018, Carter added 17 points and 7 rebounds in an 88–66 victory over Notre Dame. On February 11, 2018, Carter scored 19 points and 10 rebounds in an 80–69 victory over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. On February 18, 2018, Carter provided 15 points and 10 rebounds in a 66–57 win against Clemson. On February 21, 2018, Carter scored 18 points and 6 assist in an 82–56 win over

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

. On February 24, 2018, Carter scored 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 60–44 win against Syracuse. On the season, Carter averaged 13.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Carter had one of the best freshman seasons for a power forward/center in Duke history where he would finish second all-time for Duke freshman with (335) rebounds, (76) blocked shots and (16) career double-doubles. Following Duke's loss in the 2018 NCAA men's basketball tournament, Carter announced his intention to forgo his final three seasons of collegiate eligibility and declare for the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

. Carter was subsequently named both Second team All-ACC and ACC All-Freshman teams.

Professional career

Chicago Bulls (2018–2021)

On June 21, 2018, Carter was selected with the seventh overall pick by the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

. On July 3, 2018, Carter officially signed with the Bulls. On October 18, he made his NBA debut, scoring eight points and recording three rebounds, three assists and a block against the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, Four days later, Carter recorded career-highs in rebounds (9) and assists (4) against the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. On October 31, 2018, Carter scored a season high 25 points with eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and three steals in a 107–108 overtime loss to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

. He would break that amount on November 30 with 28 points scored in a loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. On March 24, 2019, Carter was ruled out for the remainder of the season with left thumb surgery.

Orlando Magic (2021–present)

On March 25, 2021, Carter and

Otto Porter Otto Porter Jr. (born June 3, 1993) is an American former professional basketball player. He played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and he won an NBA Finals, NBA championship when he played for the Golden State Warrio ...

were traded to the

in exchange for Nikola Vučević and Al-Farouq Aminu. Orlando also received two future first-round draft picks. On October 16, 2021, Carter signed a four-year, $50 million rookie scale extension with the Magic. On March 20, 2022, Carter scored a career-high 30 points in a 90–85 win against the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

2022–2023 season

Carter matched his career-high of 30 points in a 116–108 loss on November 1, 2022, against the

. On December 11, Carter scored a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 114–97 win against the

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. On December 18, Carter scored 21 points and 8 rebounds in a 108–107 victory over the

. On December 29, he was suspended by the NBA for one game without pay due to coming off the bench during an altercation in a game against the

the day before.

2024–2025 season

On October 7, 2024, Carter and the Magic agreed to a three–year, $58.7 million contract extension.

National team career

Carter played with the United States U17 team at the

FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup The FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup (formerly FIBA Under-17 World Championship) is the under-17 men's world basketball championship organised by the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The inaugural tournament was in July 2010, ...

, where he won gold. As well, he was named to the All-Tournament Team, along with teammate Collin Sexton.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, 44 , , 44 , , 25.2 , , .485 , , .188 , , .795 , , 7.0 , , 1.8 , , .6 , , 1.3 , , 10.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 43 , , 43 , , 29.2 , , .534 , , .207 , , .737 , , 9.4 , , 1.2 , , .8 , , .8 , , 11.3 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 25 , , 24.7 , , .512 , , .364 , , .739 , , 7.8 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , .8 , , 10.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, 22 , , 19 , , 26.5 , , .493 , , .241 , , .721 , , 8.8 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .8 , , 11.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 62 , , 61 , , 29.9 , , .525 , , .327 , , .691 , , 10.5 , , 2.8 , , .6 , , .7 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 54 , , 29.6 , , .525 , , .356 , , .738 , , 8.7 , , 2.3 , , .5 , , .6 , , 15.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 55 , , 48 , , 25.6 , , .525 , , .374 , , .694 , , 6.9 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .5 , , 11.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 68 , , 51 , , 25.9 , , .460 , , .234 , , .737 , , 7.2 , , 2.0 , , .8 , , .6 , , 9.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 383 , , 345 , , 27.3 , , .509 , , .316 , , .729 , , 8.3 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .7 , , 11.9

Playoffs

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2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 7 , , 5 , , 26.4 , , .404 , , .280 , , .727 , , 6.3 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .6 , , 7.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 7 , , 5 , , 26.4 , , .404 , , .280 , , .727 , , 6.3 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .6 , , 7.6

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

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Personal life

Wendell's father, Wendell Sr., played professional basketball in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

after playing college basketball at

Delta State University Delta State University (DSU) is a public university in Cleveland, Mississippi, a city in the Mississippi Delta. History The school was established in 1924 by the State of Mississippi, using the facilities of the former Bolivar County Agricultu ...

. His mother, Kylia Carter, played basketball at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

. On February 23, 2018, Carter was 1 of 25 college players identified in an FBI investigation as having received impermissible benefits as a college athlete as a result of his mother allegedly having had her lunch paid for by an agent nine months before he signed to play for Duke.

References

External links

*
Duke Blue Devils bio

247 Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Wendell Jr. 1999 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Atlanta Centers (basketball) Chicago Bulls draft picks Chicago Bulls players Duke Blue Devils men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Orlando Magic players Pace Academy alumni Power forwards 21st-century American sportsmen