Wendell Moore Jr.

BIOGRAPHY

Wendell Moore Jr. was born September 18, 2001 in Richmond, Virginia. He is a small forward in the NBA.

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.

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

On October 8, 2018, Moore announced that he will attend Duke University and play for the Blue Devils during the 2019–20 season. Moore picked the Blue Devils.

Moore scored 17 points in an 81–73 win over Georgetown in the finals of the 2K Classic. He suffered a broken hand in a win against Miami (Fla.) on January 4, 2020 which required surgery. After missing six games, Moore returned to action on February 1 in a win against Syracuse. On February 8, Moore scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds in a rivalry game against North Carolina. He was named to the Second Team All-ACC as a junior, as well as the All-Defensive Team. 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. On April 2, 2022, Moore was named the winner of the Julius Erving Award. He declared for the 2022 NBA draft and forgoed his college eligibility on April 21. 

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 and two future second-round picks.