Movie Magic? Orlando Draftee Jett Howard's Acting Debut Coming Soon!

At No. 11 overall, the Orlando Magic drafted guard Jett Howard, who depicts LeBron James' high school rival Carmelo Anthony in the upcoming movie "Rising Stars."

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic saw star potential when they drafted Michigan guard Jett Howard No. 11 overall in the NBA Draft, and it’s easy to see why when you look at the silver screen.

In a soon-to-be-released film, ‘Rising Stars,’ a movie about LeBron James’ high school basketball team, Howard plays the role of a young Carmelo Anthony.

For all the Magic fans wanting us to take a shooter with #6, you guys probably got one of the best shooters with @JettHoward5

Huge words from one of the best players coach in the game, Chris Brickley https://t.co/86h4sKRrgb pic.twitter.com/8BpBLysxai

— Huncho Hoops (@HunchoHoops) June 23, 2023

Orlando hopes that Howard’s method acting can transform him into a future Hall of Famer on the real-life hardwood like Melo, the man he’s been paid to portray.

All jokes aside, while the Magic didn’t draft Howard based on how well he played the role of Melo, but according to Orlando’s head of basketball operations, Jeff Weltman, they didn’t draft him based on his college role either. 

“Jett’s not just a shooter, you know. Jett is skilled, has IQ, and he’s got good size. But the hidden thing about Jett is that he played most of the season injured, and we believe there’s more to Jett than he was able to show,” Weltman said.

“We feel like a lot of what he was going to show the second half of the season was masked with injury, but the guy has great footwork, great feel for the game...We feel like he has good defensive potential and potential to be a real strong two-way player.”

For the record, the player Howard was at Michigan was already a first-round talent. His 2.7 three-pointers made per game ranked third amongst drafted players, behind fellow lottery picks Brandon Miller and Jordan Hawkins.

However, if Howard proves to be even more than he was in college, he could go from movie star to All-Star for the Magic in no time.

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