Al Horford isn’t always appreciated by basketball fans, but his well-rounded skill set certainly isn’t going unnoticed by one of the top prospects in this year’s NBA draft class.
Duke product Wendell Carter Jr., who’s expected to be a top-10 pick in the June 21 draft, has been drawing comparisons to Horford for his impressive versatility and above-average passing ability as a big man. While Horford by no means is the flashiest name in the NBA, Carter is all-in on the comparison.
“Growing up, I always loved Anthony Davis’ game,” Carter told The Athletic’s Michael Scotto. “As I matured, I learned that wasn’t my ideal type of person to model my game after. I started hearing Al Horford a lot, so that’s someone I’ve decided to model my game after.”
So, what exactly does Carter appreciate about Horford’s game?
“(Horford) affects the game in so many different ways,” Carter said. “He doesn’t have to have the ball in his hands to help his team win. That’s what I like about him.”
In his lone season with the Blue Devils, Carter averaged 13.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game while boasting a 56 percent shooting clip and 41 percent from beyond the arc. But much like Horford, not everything Carter does on the floor shows up in the stat sheet.
