An Optimistic Approach to Markelle Fultz
So much of the talk around Markelle Fultz through his first month of the 2018-2019 season has been pessimistic and critical. Fans and the media are terrified that Fultz has yet to burst out of the gates scoring 15+ points per game. Even worse, he has not exactly been letting the three-pointers fly, as we may been led to believe Markelle’s shooting coach Drew Hanlen.
But I think–and I can’t believe I’m saying this–that us Philadelphia fans may be a little bit spoiled from the past year or two. Markelle and us fans may just be victims of our own success.
Across the Sports Complex, the Eagles shocked us all by fast-tracking their rebuild in Head Coach Doug Pederson’s second season with backup quarterback Nick Foles; claiming our first Super Bowl victory in the teams history. It was incredible, and we are still taking it in. But, it is not the way sports usually work out.
Back to the Sixers, where despite sitting through their injury seasons, we have been fortunate enough to watch Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons give us All-Star skills as soon as they touched the NBA court. I don’t think we really appreciate how rare this is in the NBA. Simmons and Embiid are part of a select few guys in the one-and-done era who have burst onto the scene and made an impact so instantly.
But even more common than Embiid, Simmons, Towns, and Porzingis are guys like Giannis, Oladipo, Porter, McCollum, Gobert, LaVine, Capela, and Gordon. It is far more common that players take a few years of play to become serious contributors for their teams.
The NBA is such a different animal from what guys coming into the league, let alone 19 year old kids, are used to. I think we should take a step back and accept that Markelle Fultz may take a few seasons to become the player we hope him to be.
I know this may not be what we hoped for, but we should keep in mind that when the Sixers drafted Markelle Fultz, this was a 28 win team. No one really anticipated that this team would become an Eastern Conference contender as soon as they did. We can debate the merits of the trade Bryan Colangelo made to go up and get Markelle Fultz with the number 1 pick, but I honestly think that’s a discussion for another time.
I think it was completely reasonable at the time to get a player like Markelle who may not have been the best immediate-impact player, but everyone agreed had the highest upside in the draft. If the Sixers didn’t take such an enormous jump last year, we probably wouldn’t have such high expectations for Markelle. Markelle is learning how to fit in as a role player right now on a contending team, something he has never had to do.
We also need to consider the fact that Fultz has a history of being a late-bloomer. Markelle did not make his high school’s varsity basketball team when he was a sophomore. Three years after playing JV basketball, this kid was the consensus #1 pick in the NBA draft. That’s insane, and it really shouldn’t be surprising to us that the kid is feeling some pressure.
Overall, as difficult as it may be, I think we all need to take a step back when we look at Fultz’s progress. I get that after the Process we are anxious for some instant gratification, and we deserve some! But it seems very possible that even though Markelle hasn’t shined through these first few games, we may look back at this season and say he showed real progress month-to-month throughout the year. I wouldn’t pass judgment on Markelle for a couple more months, after he has some time to get the hang of his role, his teammates build some trust in him, he learns the NBA game, and he finds some confidence.
Keep trusting the Process, everyone. Markelle and the Sixers will be just fine.
