After two seasons and some change with his hometown Chicago Bulls, former West Virginia guard Jevon Carter was waived, allowing him to find more playing time elsewhere. In 23 games with the Bulls this season, he averaged 11 minutes per night, buried on the depth chart despite the other options on the roster not consistently producing.
It began to feel like Carter was well on his way out of Chicago for a while now, and it may have been the best thing that could have happened, as it led to an opportunity with the Orlando Magic, who are in playoff contention. Going from limited playing time on a lottery team to carving out a role on a Eastern Conference contender is quite the upgrade.
In his first two games with Orlando, Carter combined for 29 points on 11/22 shooting from the field and a 6/16 mark from three-point range. He also totaled five rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and three steals. He was, however, held scoreless in Sunday’s game against the Clippers.
Feb 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Orlando Magic guard Jevon Carter (2) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
“His attitude, his effort out there. He’s just hungry,” Magic star Paolo Banchero said about what he’s seen from Carter thus far. “He’s been in the league a while, and he’s played at a lot of different places. He’s just coming in here and taking advantage of his opportunity, fitting in, playing both sides of the ball.”
Head coach Jamahl Mosley took his praise a bit further and talked as if Carter would actually be a part of their plans down the stretch.
“He’s about the right things. He’s about winning. He’s about team. He’s about playing the right way. You saw it as soon as he stepped on the court. It was pick up full court (pressure), talking in the huddles, getting guys in the right spots, stepping in with confidence to his shot. He’s about all the right things. He’s about winning. He’s about toughness. He fits exactly what we do here with hard-nosed defense, creating your offense on the other end.”
Carter and the Orlando Magic will be back in action late tonight on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers at 10::30 p.m. ET. Entering this game, the Magic have a 30-26 record, sitting in seventh place in the Eastern Conference. It’s going to be difficult for them to climb up the standings much further, but they could leap the 76ers for the six seed, which would keep them out of the Play-In Tournament.
