Who Is Wendell Carter Jr.?: Angel Reese's Rumored Boyfriend
Who Is Wendell Carter Jr.?: Angel Reese’s Rumored Boyfriend
After months of swirling rumors and side-eye from fans, Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. finally gave the people something to talk about. During a November 2025 appearance on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back, the 26-year-old addressed speculation about his relationship with Chicago Sky standout Angel Reese, and his confirmation was playful and telling.
“That’s the homie for sure, we locked in,” Carter said on the Nov. 17, 2025, episode when former NBA player Chandler Parsons asked him directly if the two were dating. As he spoke, Carter smiled, laughed, and even bowed his head, clearly enjoying the moment.
Co-host Michelle Beadle wasn’t letting the wording slide so easily.
“What? The homie? The homie?” she joked.
Carter doubled down without giving too much away.
“Y’all gonna find out when y’all need to find out,” he replied. “We’ll just leave it at that. That’s my girl, though. We locked in for sure.”
The very next day, Reese appeared to cosign the moment with a short but effective response on X.
“Period homie,” Reese, 23, wrote.
When did Angel Reese and Wendell Carter Jr. begin dating?
While neither has gone fully public or made things Instagram official, the dating signs have been noticeable. Angel Reese was spotted supporting her rumored boyfriend, sitting courtside at one of Carter’s games in Berlin earlier this month, and fans have been on high alert ever since. The speculation isn’t new either. It first surfaced in May 2025, when Carter was seen attending Reese’s birthday party, according to the New York Post.
A couple of months later, in July 2025, he showed up at the WNBA All-Star Game wearing a shirt with Reese’s photo on it. The two smiled for a photo opp and gave each other a sweet hug afterward. Reese, meanwhile, has been spotted rocking Orlando Magic gear on her own Instagram.
So, who exactly is Wendell Carter Jr. beyond the viral “homie” moment and dating rumors?
Who is Wendell Carter Jr.?
Like Reese, Carter has strong ties to Chicago, too, having been drafted by the Bulls in 2018, where he played three seasons before being traded to the Orlando Magic in 2020, according to ESPN. He currently anchors the Magic as a center. Before the NBA, Carter spent one standout season at Duke during the 2017–2018 college basketball year. He arrived as a highly touted freshman and declared for the NBA Draft on his 19th birthday.
At Duke, Carter quickly made his mark. He was the team’s top shot-blocker and most effective rebounder, averaging 13.8 points per game while shooting an efficient 58.1 percent from inside the arc and 46.3 percent from beyond it, according to CBS Sports. His freshman campaign went down as one of the best by a big man in Duke history, finishing second all-time among freshmen in rebounds, blocked shots, and double-doubles. He earned second-team All-ACC honors and was a unanimous selection to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Carter Jr. was also ranked the third-best high school basketball player in the country by ESPN in 2017 and famously chose Duke over Harvard, highlighting both his athletic and academic strengths
Basketball excellence runs deep in Wendell’s family.
According to Andscape, both of his parents played college basketball. His father, Wendell Carter Sr., played at Delta State and went on to play professionally in the Dominican Republic, while his mother, Kylia Carter, played at the University of Mississippi..
Beyond the stats, Carter’s parents always taught him the importance of grounding and awareness.
“We are a side of Wendell,” Kylia Carter told The Undefeated in 2017, according to Andscape. “He’s really involved in the community. He volunteers. We keep him socially aware and educated on who he is as a Black man.”
She continued, “I am a Southern girl from Mississippi, and my husband is a Black man in America. And we work diligently to make sure he’s informed, gets an education, watches documentaries, is aware of what’s going on around him and knows that his life is not indicative to the life of most Black men.”
The proud mom added, “Even though he’s going to encounter some of those same experiences, they will be different for him. And we want him to be aware of all those that are not a part of this elite group of athletes or people.”
Carter Jr. first picked up a basketball in a church league in Atlanta at just four years old. He was so tall that he quickly moved up to play with older kids, but despite his early dominance, his parents stressed education just as much as athletics. His mother holds multiple degrees, and his father earned an associate degree, reflective of the balance they wanted for their son.
Carter Sr. has also been vocal about protecting his son’s privacy. In a 2019 interview with ESPN, he revealed that he and his wife even created a dating disclosure agreement.
“We set it up that you have to sign a disclosure if you enter his apartment, so nothing gets out. We’re just trying to get to an understanding on watching these relationships, take it slow and keep your circle small,” he explained.
With that in mind, it’s probably no surprise that Carter and Angel Reese are keeping things close to the chest. For now, fans will just have to wait—and judging by the smiles and subtle confirmations, they don’t seem to be in any rush to announce their dating status just yet.
What are your thoughts on Angel Reese’s rumored boyfriend? Let us know in the comments.
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Who Is Wendell Carter Jr.?: Angel Reese’s Rumored Boyfriend was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
