Wendell Carter Jr Suffers Injury Just Day After Signing Contract Extension; DETAILS Inside

The Orlando Magic is trying to keep their pieces together from the last campaign as they look to challenge for the NBA title in the upcoming years, but it looks like injuries keep troubling them.

Updated on Oct 09, 2024  |  09:18 AM IST |  103.1K
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Wendell Carter Jr

Wendell Carter Jr., the starting center for the Orlando Magic, is regarded as day-to-day following his left ankle sprain sustained during Monday's 106-104 preseason loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports that Carter's injury happened when he tripped and twisted his ankle on Pelicans center Daniel Theis's foot while contesting a jump shot.

Immediately, Carter dropped to the ground and rolled over, clearly in pain, before receiving assistance to stand. Later, he was seen screaming an expletive and tossing his headband in frustration as he was escorted off the court and through the Magic's tunnel toward the locker room.


The news was released just one day after ESPN's Shams Charania revealed that Wendell Carter Jr. and the Magic had reached an agreement to extend his contract by three years and $59 million. Carter's current contract, which had him scheduled to make roughly $22.7 million through the 2025–2026 season, is extended by this deal for an additional two years. Carter's total pay over the next five seasons will now be $82 million thanks to this extension.

The 25-year-old's new deal, which guarantees the Magic their starting center through the age of 29, represents the maximum extension permitted by the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Since coming to Orlando as part of the trade that sent Nikola Vučević to the Chicago Bulls in 2021, Carter has been an integral part of the Magic's youthful core. But his career has been marred by injuries thus far. Due to various injuries, he played in just 55 games last season. Over his six NBA seasons, he has missed at least 20 games. Carter has missed 24 games annually on average over the last three seasons.

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Wendell Carter Jr. had made maintaining his health a top priority going into the 2024–25 campaign before this most recent setback. His availability will be key to Orlando’s hopes of building on last season’s success, where they made a return to the playoffs.

ALSO READ: Wendell Carter Jr Agrees To $59 Million Extension With Orlando Magic, NBA Insider Reveals

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