Atlanta native Wendall Carter Jr. inspires youth beyond basketball court

For the fourth straight summer, Atlanta-native and Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. inspired youth beyond the basketball court.

The former Pace Academy Knight held his annual youth basketball camp on June 7 at Whitefield Academy through his foundation A Platform Squared.

“I give a lot of credit to my parents,” Carter said. “Growing up, they told me, whatever I did in my life, you never make it until you bring someone along with you, right? So the first thing I thought was like ‘we got to have a basketball camp. All the professional athletes do it, like, why not me?’”

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Carter’s camps typically focus on the game and life outside the sport.

“I saw it as an opportunity to like, not only basketball, but let’s give these kids something that they can use for the rest of their life,” Carter said. “I always start off with teaching on financial literacy my first two years, African-American studies. And then I had to really think about it, you know, these kids just getting out of school, they aren’t trying to send no class all day. Let’s make this more interactive. And we open up bank accounts for them. You know, just kind of help them jumpstart that kind of process.”

Even in its early stages, the foundation continues to search for new ways to grow. Always fascinated by planes, Carter’s next steps are to implement scholarship opportunities towards aviation through the initiative, Flight34.

“Growing up my mom worked for Hartsfield Jackson Airport,” Carter said. “So I was around planes a lot. I fell in love with it. As I got taller, I understood I wouldn’t be able to fly a plane. So that kind of went out the window.”

Carter’s career on the court continues to soar. He guided the Magic to a second consecutive playoff appearance and recently signed an extension keeping him in Orlando for another three years.

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