Magic’s Wendell Carter Jr. staying motivated against league’s top bigs
Before the season even started, an Orlando Magic assistant coach gave Wendell Carter Jr. a piece of motivation that played a factor in Saturday’s 126-114 overtime home win over the Miami Heat.
Carter told the Orlando Sentinel that Randy Gregory, Magic assistant offensive/video coordinator, had a screenshot of an Aug. 29 tweet from “NBACentral” that listed HoopsHype.com’s preseason top-10 centers entering the season taped inside Carter’s locker at Amway Center.
Why did Gregory do this?
Because Carter’s name wasn’t present, which constantly motivates Carter every time he goes to his locker.
“That’s what drives me every day,” Carter told the Sentinel earlier in the season while sitting next to his locker, “until they put my [name] on there.”
“[Helps] me stay motivated. It’s something small to keep me going every day. Give me a reason to keep going.”
Carter’s name wasn’t listed at all on HoopsHype’s top-25 centers entering the season because they considered him a power forward instead.
Still, Carter came in at No. 21 in their preseason ranking of power forwards — one spot ahead of Houston Rockets rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. and one below now-Brooklyn Nets forward Cam Johnson.
This listing came after Jeff Weltman, Magic president of basketball operations, said he felt Carter established himself as a top-10 center following last season.
Others didn’t feel the same as Weltman, with most publications — including Sporting News and Bleacher Report — either leaving Carter off or having him just outside the top 10 in their preseason rankings of big men/centers.
“Just [keeps] me going,” Carter told the Sentinel. “I’m always motivated to win and things like that. It’s an extra little boost to it. That was something we were talking about last year and we just kind of emphasized it this year. It’s a lot more to prove than what I did last year.”
This motivation was present in Saturday’s win, with Carter matching up against two-time All-Star Bam Adebayo — who was No. 3 on HoopsHype’s list.
Carter, who missed the previous three games because of hip pain, and Adebayo didn’t necessarily guard each other the entire time both were in the game. Adebayo was assigned to rookie forward Paolo Banchero to start while Carter mostly defended Adebayo. But Adebayo was Carter’s primary defender down the stretch in the fourth quarter and overtime, giving Carter the type of battles he relishes.
Carter led the Magic in the victory with a 27-point, 11-rebound double-double. He had 7 points and 1 rebound in overtime.
“He doesn’t know how good he is,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s the crazy part. This young man is special. You talk about his defensive presence, his offensive presence, his toughness, the voice and the resiliency he brings to that locker room. He’s a warrior.
“[There are] only a few guys that can do what he does: guard pick-and-rolls with the big, sit down and guard a big one-on-one, switch a pick-and-roll with a guard and get possessions where he’s making shots, rolling to the rim and finishing. Those are plays where he sacrifices. That’s how these guys feel about him.”
For Carter, the victory that ended the Magic’s three-game losing streak matters the most. But playing against one of the top centers in the league is something he always embraces.
“It’s exciting; that’s the competitive spirit I bring,” Carter said of playing against Adebayo. “That’s my guy, too. We’re both competitors. We both want to win games. We both play really hard. It’s always a fun time whenever I go against him.”
Carter is striving to be considered among the upper echelon of centers.
He’s averaging career-highs in points (15.3), 3-point accuracy (34.1 on 3.6 attempts) and effective field goal percentage (58.1%) — a formula that adjusts for 3-pointers being worth more than made 2-pointers.
As he sees it, more individual recognition will come with better team success.
The Magic are 28-40, No. 13 in the Eastern Conference, after Saturday’s win. They’ve gone 22-20 since Dec. 5.
“Just win more games,” Carter said. “With that comes more nationally televised games. That comes with more recognition of our games. Unfortunately, we’re not one of the best teams in the league. With more wins, I think we collectively will get more recognition.”
Carter also knows being available for more games will help his case.
He’s missed 23 games this season — 22 because of injury and one because of the one-game suspension multiple Magic players received after the Dec. 28 on-court altercation in Detroit.
This means Carter won’t appear in at least 60 regular-season games. He’s only been in at least 60 games once in his five-year career — last season, when he played 62 for the Magic.
“That too,” Carter said. “Working on my body and being more available throughout the season is very important. That’s something going into this summer I’m going to work on. Just understanding my body a little bit more. Understanding what I need to do to recover faster.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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