Wendell Moore Jr. Explained

Wendell Moore Jr.
Position:Shooting guard / small forward
Height Ft:6
Height In:5
Weight Lb:215
League:NBA
Team:Detroit Pistons
Number:14
Birth Date:18 September 2001
Birth Place:Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
High School:Cox Mill
(Concord, North Carolina)
College:Duke (2019–2022)
Draft Year:2022
Draft Round:1
Draft Pick:26
Draft Team:Dallas Mavericks
Career Start:2022
Years1:
Team1:Minnesota Timberwolves
Years2:20222024
Team2:Iowa Wolves
Years3:–present
Team3:Detroit Pistons
Highlights:

Wendell Horace Moore Jr. (;[1] born September 18, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils.

High school career

Moore attended Cox Mill High School in Concord, North Carolina. As a freshman in 2015–16, he started in all 29 games played and averaged 17.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.8 steals to help his team to a 22–8 record and a sectional championship. As a sophomore in 2016–17, he started in all 33 games and averaged 25.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.3 steals to help his team to a 27–6 record and a 3A state title. As a junior in 2017–18, he became the fastest player to score 1,000 career points in Cabarrus County public school history; averaged 25.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.3 steals to help his team to a 29–3 record and a second straight 3A state title.

Recruiting

On October 8, 2018, Moore announced that he would attend Duke University and play for the Blue Devils during the 2019–20 season. Moore picked the Blue Devils over North Carolina, NC State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest.[2] [3] [4]

College career

Moore scored 17 points in an 81–73 win over Georgetown in the finals of the 2K Classic.[5] He suffered a broken hand in a win against Miami (Florida) on January 4, 2020, which required surgery.[6] After missing six games, Moore returned to action on February 1 in a win against Syracuse.[7] On February 8, Moore scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds in a rivalry game against North Carolina. He hit a putback shot after a Tre Jones miss to give the Blue Devils a 98–96 win.[8] Moore scored a career-high 25 points on February 25, in a 113–101 loss to Wake Forest.[9] He averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game as a freshman.[10] As a sophomore, Moore averaged 9.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.[11] He was named to the Second Team All-ACC as a junior, as well as the All-Defensive Team.[12] On November 12, 2021, Moore recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, making him the fifth player in Blue Devils history with a triple-double.[13] On April 2, 2022, Moore was named the winner of the Julius Erving Award.[14] He declared for the 2022 NBA draft and forgoed his college eligibility on April 21.[15]

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2022−2024)

Moore was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 26th overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft, and then traded to the Houston Rockets as part of a trade involving Christian Wood, and then again to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for the 29th overall pick TyTy Washington Jr. and two future second-round picks.[16]

Detroit Pistons (2024–present)

On July 6, 2024, Moore was traded to the Detroit Pistons alongside the 37th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft in exchange for the 53rd pick in the draft and some cleared salary.[17]

National team career

In July 2018, Moore played for the United States in the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, where his team won the Cup.[18]

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota| 29 || 2 || 5.3 || .419 || .118 || .800 || .6 || .6 || .3 || .2 || 1.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota| 25 || 0 || 3.0 || .500 || .000 || || .5 || .2 || .2 || .0 || .7|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 54 || 2 || 4.2 || .443 || .087 || .800 || .6 || .4 || .2 || .1 || 1.1

Play-in

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023| style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota| 1 || 0 || 3.0 || || || || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career| 1 || 0 || 3.0 || || || || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0

Playoffs

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2023| style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota| 1 || 0 || 2.1 || || || || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2024| style="text-align:left;"| Minnesota| 6 || 0 || 3.1 || .429 || .250 || || .3 || .3 || .2 || .0 || 1.2|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career| 7 || 0 || 2.9 || .429 || .250 || — || .3 || .3 || .1 || .0 || 1.0

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| Duke| 25 || 11 || 24.0 || .416 || .211 || .806 || 4.2 || 1.9 || .9 || .2 || 7.4|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| Duke| 24 || 18 || 27.6 || .417 || .301 || .848 || 4.8 || 2.7 || 1.2 || .2 || 9.7|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| Duke| 39 || 39 || 33.9 || .500 || .413 || .805 || 5.3 || 4.4 || 1.4 || .2 || 13.4|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 88 || 68 || 29.4 || .459 || .358 || .814 || 4.9 || 3.2 || 1.2 || .2 || 10.7

Personal life

His dad played college basketball at Christopher Newport University, and his cousin played college basketball at the Virginia Commonwealth University.

External links

Notes and References

  1. 2023-24 start of season NBA pronunciation guide. NBA.com. October 24, 2023. May 18, 2024.
  2. Web site: Wendell Moore, 5-star recruit, commits to Duke over North Carolina. Ricky. O'Donnell. SportsNation. October 8, 2018. April 17, 2019.
  3. News: Wendell Moore commits to Duke men's basketball for 2019. www.dukechronicle.com. October 8, 2018.
  4. News: Wendell Moore commits to Duke over UNC, NC State, Wake Forest. www.espn.com. October 8, 2018.
  5. News: Dauster . Rob . Cassius Stanley, Wendell Moore spark come-from-behind win for No. 1 Duke over Georgetown . December 9, 2019 . . November 22, 2019.
  6. News: Duke freshman Wendell Moore to have surgery on broken hand . January 6, 2020 . . . January 6, 2020.
  7. News: Medcalf . Myron . Duke freshman Wendell Moore Jr. (hand) to return against Syracuse . February 3, 2020 . . February 1, 2020.
  8. News: Cobb . David . Duke vs. North Carolina score, takeaways: Blue Devils stun Tar Heels on Wendell Moore's buzzer-beater in OT . February 9, 2020 . . February 8, 2020.
  9. News: Duke allows 113 points in 2OT loss to Wake Forest, tying most under Coach K . February 26, 2020 . . February 25, 2020.
  10. Krest . Shawn . Coach K's Message to Wendell Moore Jr. . November 28, 2021 . . November 23, 2020.
  11. News: Howe . Matt . Duke basketball: Wendell Moore and Joey Baker preview 2021-22 season . November 28, 2021 . 247 Sports . October 29, 2021.
  12. ACC Unveils 2021-22 Men's Basketball Awards . . March 7, 2022 . March 7, 2022.
  13. Web site: And one: Wendell Moore Jr.'s triple-double headlines Duke's balanced performance against Army . 2022-04-24 . The Chronicle.
  14. Web site: Wendell Moore Jr. named Julius Erving Award winner . April 3, 2022 . The Chronicle.
  15. Web site: 2022-04-22 . Moore becomes 3rd Duke player to enter draft . 2022-04-24 . ESPN.com . en.
  16. Web site: June 24, 2022. Timberwolves Acquire Draft Rights to Forward Wendell Moore Jr. from the Houston Rockets . June 28, 2022 . NBA.
  17. Web site: Timberwolves Acquire a Future Draft Pick and Cash Considerations. NBA.com. July 6, 2024. July 6, 2024.
  18. Web site: USA at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018 . 2024-02-21 . FIBA.basketball . en.