Digital Media Concepts/Markelle Fultz

Summary


Markelle Fultz is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Orlando Magic part of the National Basketball Association. He was drafted 1st overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. For college, he played 1 season at the University of Washington as the starting point guard. For his career he averaged 7.7 points per game, 3.4 assists per game, and 3.4 rebounds per game. He also had career averages of 41.4% field goal percentages on 8.1 shots a game and 26.7% three point percentage on 0.5 attempts a game. At the time in the 2017-2018 NBA season, Markelle Fultz was the youngest player to record a triple-double (13 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists). He also had this achievement coming off the bench.

Early Life and High School
Markelle Fultz was born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland on May 29, 1998. His father left him early in his life, so his mother singlehandedly raised him and his two siblings by herself. At the age of 3, he started to get more into basketball. Long-time trainer Keith Williams taught Markelle Fultz the game of basketball and the fundamentals that come with it.

As a high schooler, Fultz attended the DeMatha Catholic School for educational and basketball reasons. There, he was undersized for a basketball player for half of his time at the school. As a sophomore, he was only 5' 9", and was pretty skinny. That summer, he grew to about 6' 3" (average height for a point guard), and earned a starting spot on the varsity basketball team. Fultz averaged a solid 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists during the two seasons he started. Fultz was selected to be a part of the McDonald's All-American Basketball game, a game where the top high school prospects team up to compete with one another. He scored 10 points to go along with 6 assists with 4 rebounds. Markelle also was selected to be a part of the 2016 U-18 FIBA America gold medal-winning team where he won the MVP of the championship. He scored 23 points in that game. He was offered multiple basketball scholarships to play division 1 basketball at top college programs. He ultimately decided on the University of Washington.

College
Markelle Fultz attended the University of Washington Huskies during the 2016-2017 season and played as the starting point guard. He was immediately asked to run the team as the leader and main ball handler for the program. His very first game he dropped 30 points against Yale. Markelle scored 30 points six times during the season, and had a season high of 37 points in a game against Colorado in which the huskies took the win. He was very successful during this time, posting 23.2 points per game in the PAC-12 conference, which was the most in 20 years. Also as a member of the huskies, Markelle lead the team in assists at 5.7 a game and second for rebounds at 5.9 per game. He was also named to the First Team All-Pac-12. His team was a measly 9-22 in the Pac-12 conference, but Fultz was getting scouts that predicted that he would be a top 5 pick.

Philadelphia 76ers (2017-2019)
Markelle Fultz was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2017 NBA Draft. He was selected first overall. Fultz would join the future super stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons on trying to make a playoff push in hopes of retaining the coveted NBA Championship. His very first game as a 76er, Markelle scored 10 points and showed great signs of being healthy. As the season continued, there were speculations about Fultz's shooting abilities. His jump shot started to look uncomfortable, and his free throw and three point percentages started to plummet. Eventually his agent Raymond Brothers released to the media that Fultz's shoulder had to be drained because of the immense pain he was having. But after that, he quickly changed his story saying Fultz needed a cortisone shot to help with the pain. Because of all of these different reports, people came to believe that Markelle was hiding something and deemed a bust. His shooting mechanics were off and his shoulder was in actual pain. Because of this, the 76ers sat him out indefinitely to let him recover (68 games).

Markelle was going to be shut down by the team president, but he did come back to play with the team against the Denver Nuggets on March 26th, 2018. He dropped 10 points and had 8 assists, but his shot mechanics still looked uncomfortable. Later on in the season, it seemed as if Markelle Fultz was proving the haters wrong when he became the youngest player (19 years, 317 days) to record a triple double (13 p, 10r, and 10a). He achieved this while coming off the bench.

During the next season, Markelle Fultz got the opportunity to start for the 76ers. It wasn't until much longer when his shoulder issue started to flare up again, and Fultz's agent declared that he would sit out to get treatment on his shoulder, which turned out to be thoracic outlet syndrome. This diagnosis is very common in baseball players because of certain nerves of the shoulder and neck that prohibit different movements, but rare in basketball players.

Orlando Magic (2019-present)
Markelle Fultz was traded to the Orlando Magic for Jonathan Simmons and a first round pick (via the Thunder) and a second round pick (via the Cavaliers). He has yet to play a game due to the shoulder injury.

Bust or Future Star?
The story of Markelle Fultz is confusing and sad at the same time. The public sees the basketball player as a bust, someone who has not lived up to expectations. He is putting up fairly poor averages and poor shooting numbers. He hasn't even played 100 games in his career yet and the public calls him a bust. Although his shooting motion is due to his injury, many have come to believe his confidence has plummeted. He shoots free throws as if he has anxiety and double pumps his three point shots. Many believe Fultz does not belong in such a competitive league.

Some reasons Markelle Fultz is not a bust is because he is still young. He is still 20 years of age and hasn't hit his prime yet. Someone in their prime age of basketball would be 28-32 years of age. Markelle has a lot of time to grow and even mature into an adult as well as a basketball player. A trade from a roster full of complete players from the 76ers to the Magic is ideal for Fultz. There wouldn't have been any room for Markelle to grow as a player playing for the 76ers. Being on the Orlando Magic would allow Fultz to be a much needed point guard the Magic have longed for. His numbers from college were ridiculous at 23.2 ppg, 5.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists. “Usually when a guy is as big as he is, they act like they’re point guards when they really aren’t. But he’s so fast and fluid with his dribble that it amazes me. He really is a point guard. As a matter of fact, he punishes smaller point guards because he’s so big and their (smaller) size doesn’t negate him," said Arizona's coach. He has a great pick and roll game which took up a good 30.4% of his game. “He’s still getting back, still getting comfortable...You can see it, he has his moments and I think he’s going to be a good one," said Joel Embiid, Fultz's former teammate. “He’s looked great. Truthfully, he’s looked great. I’ve been really, really impressed with him," J.J. Redick answered when asked about Fultz. Players that have been around Fultz have a better understanding of what he has actually gone through rather than reporters that don't go through the same motions as basketball players. “That skill he has, as I’ve said to everybody, it connects the dots and when you don’t have it, you realize it even more. He can create a shot for himself, he can create a shot for others, he’s got a lot of wiggle to his game. And, you know, that’s different. He’s different than all of our players," said Coach Brown of the 76ers. The fact the head coach of one of the most successful teams in the NBA says he is different for the game says a lot about the talent Fultz has. His story from as a kid loving basketball, to high school getting cut from the varsity team, getting a scholarship from the University of Washington before any other scholarships, and his road to recovery shows his adversity and love for basketball.