ORLANDO, Fla. – Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. shared encouragement and insight to a group of young men Thursday night.
Boys2Men, an Orlando-based mentorships program, brought a small group of 14-18-year-olds to hear from Carter, Jr. He spoke on his experiences in high school, getting drafted into the NBA and his future dreams and aspirations. Carter, Jr., encouraged the young men to listen to their parents, do well in their academics and put in the hard work to achieve their goals.
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“It’s an honor,” Carter Jr.” said. “Just looking back when I was their age, I never thought I’d be in this position where I’m able to walk in a room and now I got all eyes and ears on me and they’re trying to learn things from my life.”
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Carter Jr. made it a point to himself to be known for more than just basketball. He saw this time with speaking to the young men as a chance to do that.
“Ever since I graduated from high school, I’ve always told myself ‘Okay, I want to be a great basketball player, but I also want to be a great person.’ I got this platform now where people are looking at me and things like that. I feel like it’s a great opportunity for me to at least try to help someone.”
The biggest piece of advice Carter Jr. shared with the group was living in the moment.
“I feel like a lot of people kind of get caught up in the past and things they went through. People get caught up in trying to see what’s going to happen in the future. Sometimes we take for granted what’s right in front of us. One of my mentors, Coach [Mike Krzyzewski], was the kind of person that taught me that when I got to Duke. Just being able to live in the moment and not put too much energy in the past or the future and just staying present.”
Carter Jr. played one season at Duke University from 2017-18 and was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bulls in 2018. He was traded to the Magic in 2021.