Two summers ago, Wendell Carter Jr. underwent surgery on his left hand to further stabilize a broken bone suffered during the 2023-24 season.
The preventive procedure involved placing a plate at the fracture site, and it kept him off the court at a crucial time when offseason training was taking place.
This summer?
No surgeries. No rehab. Just work for the Magic center.
“My confidence is at an all-time high right now,” Carter said. “I’m feeling good. When I had this summer just to train, it wasn’t necessarily about me becoming a better shooter — I know I can shoot. It wasn’t about me being able to make moves in the post like I know I can do. It was just about me boosting my confidence. Because the more you work, the more you’re on the court, you get out there and you feel like, ‘OK, I know this is going in,’ even if it doesn’t. I know it feels good. I shot a million of these shots throughout the summer.
“So, it just felt good to have one of those summers again where I can actually just work on my craft and build my confidence, which will be needed for this team,” he added.
Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman agrees with the Orlando big man, despite the 6-foot-10 center failing to average double-digit scoring (9.1 points) for the first time in his seven years in the league last season.
“The league values Wendell highly because Wendell does things that just don’t show up [in the box score],” Weltman said. “He eats up people’s mistakes, he can deal with the physicality of moving guys in the post … He doesn’t have to block a shot, he can prevent the play from getting to where it has to get for them to get that shot. He can also switch out on wings and guard.
“Wendell is just the ultimate like, ‘whatever the team needs to win, he’s there to do,’ [player.] Wendell is obviously a really important part of our team and one of the reasons why we’re excited about the season,” Weltman added.
Carter shot 23.4% from 3-point range last season, which was a significant drop off from the year prior, when he was at 37.4%. If he’s able to bounce back from distance, it would go a long way for a team that shot a league-low 31.8% from beyond the arc.
He believes the additions of guards Demond Bane, a career 41% 3-point shooter, and Tyus Jones, who shot better than 41% from 3-point range the past two seasons, will help himself and the rest of the squad.
“Adding guys like Desmond, Tyus, another summer of guys getting better, it just makes us that much more dynamic on the offensive end,” Carter said. “Defensively, there was no drop off. We’re going to continue to be that top-three defensive team in the league. That’s probably been our biggest struggle — the offensive side of the ball, trying to figure out how to put more points up on the board. Adding Desmond and Tyus is going to make it so much easier for everyone else to get open shots.”
But getting open shots hasn’t been a problem for Orlando. It’s making them.
The Magic averaged 18.8 “wide open” 3-point attempts last regular season (meaning the closest defender was 6-plus feet away), according to league tracking data. Although the number of average attempts was middle of the pack league-wide, Orlando’s conversion rate was dead last in those instances, at 35.1%.
That’s where Bane and Jones come in, according to Carter.
“Desmond is a knockdown shooter … Tyus is one of the best point guards in terms of turnover ratio and things like that in this league,” Carter said. “They’re going to find me in sweet spots. It’s just going to make it so much easier for me.”
Those roster additions don’t change Carter’s role on either end of the court in his eyes. Some nights he’ll help from the perimeter or in the post, other nights he’ll focus solely on crashing the glass for boards.
“I’ll do whatever for this team, as long as we’re winning,” Carter said. “That’s all I care about.”
Regardless, Carter has high expectations for this version of the Magic. A lot has changed since Weltman made the call for Orlando to acquire the center from Chicago in 2021.
“Out of my eight years, this is probably the most talented team I’ve been a part of,” Carter said. “I’m just super excited for that first regular season game for them to tip the ball off and show the world what we’re made of down here in Orlando.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
