FULTZ STEAM AHEAD
76ers take Washington guard first overall in NBA Draft
Adam Silver stepped to the podium at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at precisely 7:35 Thursday night to welcome everyone to the 2017 NBA Draft and say that the Sixers were on the clock.
After speaking for a little more than one minute, it took the NBA commissioner less than four minutes to return to the podium and announce the worst kept secret in the NBA: That University of Washington guard Markelle Fultz is headed to Philadelphia.
The Sixers made that wellknown fact official when they took Fultz with the overall No. 1 pick. It’s the fourth time the Sixers have had the top pick in the draft.
“I’m excited for our fans and for the 76ers organization that we were able to select the top player in the NBA Draft, Markelle Fultz,” managing general partner Josh Harris said in a statement released by the team. “By adding a player of Markelle’s caliber to our promising roster, we believe we’re incredibly well positioned for the future. This is a tremendous night for the Sixers and our great fans.” Fultz was thrilled, too. “It was unreal,” Fultz said. “Once I heard my name called it was like God calling me.”
It’s the fourth time in franchise history that the team has had the overall No. 1 pick. The first two, Doug Collins in 1973 and Allen Iverson in 1996, worked out pretty well. The jury is still out on the third, Ben Simmons, who was the top selection last year.
The 6-4 Fultz was the team’s target all along, which is why the Sixers sent the No. 3 pick and a future No. 1 selection to Boston to secure the overall No. 1 pick.
It did not matter to the Sixers that Fultz is the first player from a losing team to go No. 1 since the Portland Trail Blazers took LaRue Martin out of Loyola (Ill.) in 1972. Martin’s team went 8-14. Washington was 9-22 in the only year Fultz was with the Huskies.
Nor did it matter that Fultz missed six of the Huskies’ last eight games with a knee injury. Vice president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo and the rest of the brass felt that Fultz was the perfect fit and made the move to get him.
Fultz is a late bloomer. He did not make the varsity at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md. until he grew from 5-9 to 6-3 in the summer between his sophomore and junior years. He averaged 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists as a junior. As a senior, Fultz averaged 19.1 points and 8.8 rebounds while leading DeMatha to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) championship game.
After graduation, Fultz was named tournament MVP after leading Team USA to the gold medal at the FIBA America’s U18 tournament.
He continued to blossom at Washington. Fultz was sixth in the country in scoring (23.2 ppg.) and averaged 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 47.3 percent overall and 41.3 percent from 3-point range.
It is his versatility that the Sixers coveted the most. The plan is to use Simmons as the primary ball handler and the Sixers wanted a player who could play off the ball on offense and take on the opposing point guard on defense. They also wanted a player who could fill in at the point when Simmons is on the bench.
Fultz fills both of those needs, but he does need to improve in several areas. Although he has a 6-10 wingspan he is not known for his defense. He also has to improve his freethrow shooting. He only made 64.9 of his attempt at the line at Washington.
This is only the fourth time that a team has had the overall No. 1 pick in back-to-back drafts since 1980. The Houston Rockets took Ralph Sampson No. 1 in 1983 and Hakeem Olajuwon a year later. The Orlando Magic selected Shaquille O’Neal in 1992 and Chris Webber the next year. The Cleveland Cavaliers chose Anthony Bennett in 2013 and Andrew Wiggins in 2014.
Sampson and Olajuwon, though, are the only consecutive overall No. 1 picks to play together for the team that drafted them. The Magic traded the rights to Webber to the Golden State Warriors for the rights to Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. The Cavs sent Wiggins and Bennett in a threeteam deal with Minnesota and the Sixers to get Kevin Love. Wiggins and Bennett did play one year together with the Timberwolves.