Chosen in first position of the 2017 Draft by Philadelphia, Markelle Fultz was to be an important part of the Sixers’ “process”. Unfortunately, a mysterious shoulder problem derailed his early career.
The leader/back therefore only stayed a season and a half in Pennsylvania, for only 33 games played. Finally, during the 2019 “trade deadline”, he was traded to the Magic for Jonathon Simmons, a second draft round in 2019 (Carsen Edwards) and a first draft round in 2020 (Tyrese Maxey).
While the Sixers could not find the origin of Markelle Fultz’s shoulder problem, they preferred to pass the file on to Orlando. A complicated situation for both sides.
“I had the support I needed…and I’m grateful to the Sixers franchise for everything they did for me, but I don’t know, it was a weird situation” says Markelle Fultz. “I understand it’s a business and I now understand the business and the ins and outs of it all. So I’m grateful that I was able to be transferred to a place where I had a second chance and an opportunity to progress. They wanted to win. I wish I had the opportunity to help them because I really think I could have helped them win if they had been patient and let me recover, but at the same time I’m grateful for everything they did for me and it all ended well in the end”.
Markelle Fultz is probably not the only one to wonder about his “weird” time at the Sixers. Aged 25, he is in any case coming out of his best career season in Orlando.
A 3-point address always problematic
In 60 games played, he posted averages of 14 points, 5.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 steals at 51.4% shooting. In progress in all areas, he therefore thinks that he could have rendered many services to his former franchise, more particularly alongside the duo Embiid / Simmons.
“They wanted Ben Simmons to have the ball. And the thing is, I think I could have helped Ben a lot because I can create situations for him where he doesn’t need to dribble, where he attacks and scores easy baskets. I would have given Joel Embiid easy baskets too” insists Markelle Fultz. “Even if they had gone under the screen, I would have offered Joel the easiest points he could have. So I realized that it was also a question of situation. There are coaches who put guys in a certain box, when they can do so much more. It didn’t work out, it wasn’t what they planned, but it’s okay”.
It is always complicated to rewrite history, especially since the NCAA’s Markelle Fultz would undoubtedly have been a reinforcement of choice for the Embiid / Simmons duo, in particular by his outside shot (41.3% success in 5 shots at 3-points per game). The problem is that after his shoulder injury when he arrived in the NBA, he never found his address by far (27.8% in six NBA seasons, and still 31% during this last campaign).
And this shooting deficit would undoubtedly be a big concern alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.
| Markelle Fultz | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2017-18 | PHL | 14 | 18 | 40.5 | 0.0 | 47.6 | 0.9 | 2.3 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 1.6 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 7.1 |
| 2018-19 | PHL | 19 | 23 | 41.9 | 28.6 | 56.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 8.2 |
| 2019-20 | ENT | 72 | 28 | 46.5 | 26.7 | 73.0 | 0.6 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 5.1 | 2.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 12.1 |
| 2020-21 | ENT | 8 | 27 | 39.4 | 25.0 | 89.5 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 5.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 12.9 |
| 2021-22 | ENT | 18 | 20 | 47.4 | 23.5 | 80.6 | 0.2 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 5.5 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 10.8 |
| 2022-23 | ENT | 60 | 30 | 51.4 | 31.0 | 78.3 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 5.7 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 14.0 |
| Total | 191 | 26 | 47.2 | 27.8 | 73.4 | 0.8 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 5.1 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 11.8 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
