Magic's Wendell Carter Jr. Empowers Academic Success for Orlando Youth

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. spent his Thursday evening with Orlando-based mentorship program Boys 2 Men, the latest installment of his efforts to give back the love he's been shown by the community.

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (back middle) meets with students from Orlando-based mentorship program Boys 2 Men. / Mason Williams, Sports Illustrated

ORLANDO, Fla. –– At his foundation, Wendell Carter Jr. is a giving man.

The Orlando Magic’s 25-year-old, Atlanta-born center had it instilled in him from the moment his NBA career began.

“I feel like you’re not successful until you bring someone else up with you,” Carter Jr. said Thursday. “That’s something my mom taught me, when I first got in the league, saying it doesn’t matter if you have a Hall of Fame career. If you’re not pulling anyone else up with you, that career wasn’t what it was meant to be.”

As his seventh NBA season approaches, Carter has continued to find ways to involve himself in the community by sharing the blessings his career has afforded him with others. Just last week, it was his own “Flight 34” initiative to inspire youth from diverse backgrounds to consider careers in aviation. Earlier this summer, he made a surprise appearance at Cole Anthony’s back-to-school supply giveaway on the city’s west side.

Carter met with students from the Boys 2 Men Mentoring program Thursday evening, which provides community-based mentoring for teenage boys ages 10-18 on their journey to manhood. Founded in 2016 by executive director Daniel Ings, the organization’s mission is to “create responsible leaders by providing educational enrichment, mentoring and life transformation skills” by “fostering excellence in the areas of education, health, and social well-being in urban and diverse communities.”

Boys 2 Men has served over 350+ boys during its lifespan, and currently has just under 100 enrollees for this year, according to Ings. On this occasion, Carter stopped by to celebrate academic achievements from the previous school year and provided each attendee with bags, school supplies and a pair of Nike slides.

This isn’t the first time Carter has made a connection to the community through the organization. It may not be the last, either.

“I can relate to them the most,” Carter said. “I grew up in a not-so-wealthy environment, so I kind of have a special feel for them. I’ve been in those same shoes where I didn’t have the school supplies to go to school, struggling to get to school every day, but I found a way. I just want to make sure I’m doing everything I can so that they can hopefully follow in my footsteps.

“Athletically, a lot can be taken away from you. But if you empower yourself to grow mentally, I feel like that’s something that no one can ever take away from you. Sometimes people think I’m very cliche about it, but I promise you that is the foundation of who I am, of who Wendell Carter is. So I just try to extend that to everyone I can.”

In such an intimate setting, it allowed Carter the opportunity to speak with each of the students – first addressing them as a group then later individually. Soon enough, the barriers that typically surround an NBA player’s exclusivity were lowered, as kids one by one snapped pictures and shared laughs with the towering big man.

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (left) meets with a student during his visit to Boys 2 Men Mentoring's gathering. / Mason Williams, Sports Illustrated

Carter sees himself as more than just a provider to them. He takes on the role of a mentor himself, a guiding light that overcoming obstacles is possible to achieve whatever is possible. That’s the core of the program in itself, meaning the partnership is a glove-like fit between the two.

“First off, Orlando is one of the best communities I’ve ever been a part of,” Carter said. “They welcomed me with open arms from the fans’ standpoint, but the city is just a fantastic city with a lot of potential. I just want to put my footprint down, not only as a good basketball player, but just as a person who was in the community and able to help as many people as I can.”

On a day when the Magic announced the surpassing of 100,000 total hours of community service to the Central Florida community, Carter served as a proverbial flag bearer for what the franchise hopes to represent in its hometown.

“Coming to Orlando, one of the first things they told me was how involved they are in the community,” Carter said. “When I heard that, and then not only them saying it, but me seeing what they do each and every day, from the owners to the CEO and things like that, it just made it very easy for me to step into this role and continue what I wanted to do when I was in Chicago.”

Carter enters the fourth full season of his NBA career with the Magic this season with a thing or two on his mind to prove.

But he does it as an established community leader who takes every opportunity possible to better endow the city of Orlando.

And that, as he told the students as a group, is bigger than basketball.

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