Author of his best career season, with 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds on average, Markelle Fultz comes back from afar because his early career had started in the worst way.
Judge for yourself: after six seasons in the League, the 24-year-old American leader still does not reach the symbolic bar of 200 games played. In fact, it is not very far, just below 199 in total: 191 in the regular season, plus 8 in the playoffs.
But this sixth season, completed with “career highs” in almost all statistical columns, is clearly that of confirmation for the former number 1 of the 2017 Draft.
Perseverance from an early age…
Damaged by several injuries, including a nervous shoulder problem during his first professional years, Fultz had to wait for a transfer to Florida to launch his career. And again, since another injury, to the knee, mowed him down again in full takeoff…
Finally left alone by his body this season, Fultz simply radiated and almost brought the Magic to “play in”. Natural leader of the young troop which is formed in Orlando, around the confirmed rookie of the year Paolo Banchero, Fultz looked back on his career, still young but already well dented.
“I almost gave up when I was in my second year [de lycée]… I had been cut from the team and I was fed up,” thus recalls Fultz in the podcast Knuckleheads. “DeMatha stirs up a lot of guys, it was very competitive. And then, I still had an hour of transport to go there every day. But my mother insisted that I continue. She wanted me to learn to accept failure and bounce back from it. She was right because I broke everything in my junior season! »
With 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists on average, including several outstanding performances with the winning shots against Jayson Tatum and Chaminade in particular, Fultz has gradually raised his rating, to the point of being invited to all events. classics of the recruiting circuit, such as the Jordan Brand Classic and the McDonald’s All American.
During the summer preceding his arrival at the University of Washington, Fultz even had the opportunity to make a name for himself on the international scene, in Chile, with a gold medal, and the MVP trophy as a bonus, from the 2016 World Under 18 Championship.
The explosion in Washington
“In the team there was Trae Young, Michael Porter Jr., Jarrett Allen, older guys [ou de la même année (1998) comme Allen] but I felt out of place, like in my age group. It was also the first time I played for a gold medal. It was a great experience and that’s when I realized that I could play, because I went to university after that. But it’s one of the best awards I got that year. At the time, it was just another step I had to take, but now, looking back, I really appreciate this medal. »
A talent recognized late in life, Fultz was nevertheless spoiled for choice when deciding on his university destination. And for once, the kid from Maryland made a radical decision: to uproot himself and cross the whole country to the West Coast!
” The main reason [de ma venue à Washington] was Coach Romar but I also wanted to leave home and make a fresh start on the other side of the country. I’m not saying it was easy with the distance but I was focused on what I had to do and I had fun. In Washington, there was Dejounte Murray, Marqueese Chriss, Matisse Thybulle, Don Green. Murray and Chriss finally left in the Draft unfortunately, but I stayed. Washington was not expected so I was going to be able to do my thing on my side quietly. Arizona, Louisville and Kentucky were also on my radar but I think I made the right choice. The Seattle Basketball Community, with Jamal Crawford, IT [Isaiah Thomas], [Spencer] Hawes, made me feel so welcome. »
Elected freshman of the year in his conference, Fultz will even integrate the best five of the Pac-12 with impressive stats at 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists on average. Enough to make him a direct candidate for the first choice of the NBA Draft!
“I remember, for my first match, I was not at all happy with my performance. But I had finished at 30 points. The next game, I finished at 35 points. I said to myself, it’s good, what I’m doing in training is working, I have to continue like this. I was hot and talked a lot in training, but I was doing the work, I was working hard on my game. The only problem was that we didn’t win enough games. [9 victoires pour 22 défaites], and that’s all I care about. »
Painful beginnings in the NBA
Quickly introduced to NBA business after shaking hands with the commissionaire (“We were in the second round [de la Draft] and I was still doing the rounds of the media… I couldn’t take it anymore, I wanted to go and join my family! “), Fultz will unfortunately be overtaken by an unusual physical problem, “an imbalance of the scapular muscle” of the shoulder which will disrupt his shooting, and derail his promising start to his career. Enough to suffer the craziest mockery and rumours.
“If that had been true, I might have been offended. But most of the things that were spinning [sur ma blessure] were just plain wrong, so it was almost laughable. It really opened my eyes to a lot of things with the Internet. You can’t believe everything you read on the internet. Me, all I wanted was to play basketball… It was a weird and frustrating situation, because even though I was focusing on myself, I heard things like it was a mental problem, things boobies that I didn’t want to feed. I kept a low profile, but deep down, I would have liked to talk about it openly to say what was really going on. I received support [de la franchise] but I was especially grateful to be transferred to a team where I was going to have a second chance. I think I could have helped them, because they wanted to play around Embiid, and I got on well with Joël, whom I supplied with good balls. But it didn’t happen that way. »
A triple-double at 19
Inevitably frustrated at not being able to justify himself from an injury that the general public knows nothing about, Fultz seizes the few opportunities he has on the pitch on his return to competition to silence his harshest critics. As proof, Fultz (19 years and 317 days) becomes the youngest player in history with a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to beat Milwaukee (a record since beaten by LaMelo Ball).
“My shoulder injury was my most complicated injury to manage, because we didn’t know what it really was. So there really wasn’t a plan in place. Then the media kicked it up saying I was changing my shooting mechanics, a whole bunch of other stuff that wasn’t true… With my knee injury at least, I knew what the protocol was and I did. followed to the letter. But for my shoulder, I didn’t know what to do; I was in the gym every day and I was actually making it worse. When we found out it was a problem of damaged nerves, we were finally able to adapt the rehabilitation and I was able to change my focus and focus on day-to-day progress instead of being discouraged with a return date so distant. My love of the game kept me motivated because I told myself that I couldn’t stop my career until I could really show my game and my potential. »
This year, it’s done with a new personal best established at 28 points, and a multitude of actions of brilliance and dunks more aerial than the others which confirm that the leader has regained the integrity of his formidable athletic qualities.
| 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.
