Magic Center Wendell Carter Jr. Bringing 'Extra Juice' vs. Bulls

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. loves playing against his former Chicago Bulls team.

Jeremy Brener | Jan 28, 2023

Magic Center Wendell Carter Jr. Bringing 'Extra Juice' vs. Bulls /

ORLANDO - It's been 674 days since the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic completed a blockbuster trade that sent Nikola Vucevic to the Windy City and Wendell Carter Jr. to central Florida.

Carter Jr. was drafted by the Bulls with the seventh pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and was once seen as a building block for their future, but that changed when the deal was made to acquire Vucevic.

Since that day, Carter Jr. has faced his former team six times and always appears to have an extra oomph against them. He averages 21.7 points and 9.2 rebounds in games against the Bulls. That's a bit higher than his career averages of 12.6 points and 8.9 rebounds.

"I'ma do my thing against them," Carter Jr. said. "It's just a game within a game that I like to play with myself. With an 82-game season, I find ways each night to motivate myself. Anytime I play Chicago, there's always an extra juice to my game. But at the end of the day, it's just another game that we have to win."

In the first meeting this season on Nov. 18 in Chicago, Carter Jr. scored 21 points and grabbed eight boards in a win against the Bulls. That was the last game he played before he was sidelined with a plantar fascia injury for a month.

Now healthy, Carter Jr. is ready to make his old team regret trading him once more.

The Bulls and Magic tip off at 7 p.m. inside Amway Center.

You can follow Jeremy Brener on Twitter @JeremyBrener.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Magic? Click Here.

Follow The Magic Insider on Facebook.

Follow The Magic Insider on Twitter.

Want even more Orlando Magic news? Check out the SI.com team page here.

Published Jan 28, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.