Fultz ramps up as season nears
Magic guard is used to pushing himself following injuries.
As the NBA season moves closer to resuming, Orlando Magic point guard Markelle Fultz has begun to push himself accordingly.
Even before the league’s return was apparent, Fultz was already working to “be ready” when it did. He calls the extra conditioning and training work “ramping up.”
Perhaps no Magic player has been better equipped to handle the physical and mental adversity brought on by the shutdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. Injuries have taught Fultz how to “ramp up” when necessary during his NBA career.
He missed nearly all of the 2018-19 season after rehabilitating from a Thoracic Outlet Syndrome issue in his right shoulder.
Fultz hasn’t able to get treatment on his shoulder — or for the knee that has bothered him at times this season — from the Magic training staff but has been able to carry out some exercises at home.
So dealing with the NBA hiatus entering its fourth month is sort of old hat for Fultz.
“Been doing that since I came into the league, dealing with injuries and managing that,” Fultz said Monday during a videoconference with reporters. “I kind of feel like I have an advantage going back into this bubble because I’ve sat out for a long time and I had to learn to stay active in certain ways and then sharpen the tools I need to sharpen.”
Players across the NBA are facing the same challenge as teams begin reassembling for the restart at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World. Games are scheduled to begin July 30.
Fultz’s work during the shutdown started with a trip to a local Walmart.
About three days after the NBA closed team and practice facilities on March 20 amid the pandemic, Fultz purchased a
basketball hoop. He said he bought it, in part, to keep himself in the flow he found himself in before the season was suspended.
Fultz averaged 17.5 points and shot 59.6% from the field in the four games before the shutdown.
“My biggest thing was I didn’t want to lose that rhythm,” he said.
So he drove to Walmart, picked up the hoop and brought it home.
That was the easy part.
The hard part, he said, was the “challenging” installation.
Eventually, the goal went up and Fultz had a key training piece in his backyard.
“I never knew how hard it was to put a basketball hoop together. But I figured it out and it was all uphill from there,” he said. “It turned into me feeling like I was a kid again.”
Fultz worked on shooting and ballhanding while listening to music. The sessions became a form of meditation as he would spend an hour or two or three outside, he said.
“I wasn’t trying to overthink it,” Fultz said.
Eventually, he began to incorporate game-situation work.
Once the season restart became official, Fultz began to put in two-hour workouts with an emphasis on ballhandling, shooting and defensive slides.
“As we ramped back up, I started to work even harder,” Fultz said. “I’ve just been sticking to what I know, which is just working hard.”
Fultz also is proving that a little elbow grease can go a long way for a professional athlete during these unprecedented times.