5 reasons Washington Husky Markelle Fultz will thrive with Philadelphia 76ers
By Bret Stuter
5. He debuts with Ben Simmons
The toughest part about being the top-picked rookie in the NBA is the tremendous level of scrutiny. For every promoting article, there is another queued up begging for that player to be a bust.
The best possible situation for Markelle Fultz played out. The Philadelphia 76ers called his name in the 2017 NBA Draft. Why is that the best situation? After all, the Philadelphia 76ers are not an historically good team.
Simply stated, he will not need to carry the team. In fact, it’s best if he plays within his comfort zone initially. The team debuts two top picks this year: Fultz and Simmons. It will be Simmons role to execute the team offense flawlessly. It will be Simmons role to push the ball to the open shooter.
Simple man, simple dream
Markelle N’Gai Fultz simply needs to defend, get open, and score. And he is very capable of all three talents. But the focus, the pressure, the media attention upon each play, each game, for all 82 games, is off. There will be breathing room for the rookie from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
The Philadelphia media can be tough. They have already focused upon Fultz’s shot mechanics in several featured stories. By the way, the young man is 19 and the season has not started yet.
Next: Woof! SF Jamal Bey commits to 2018 Washington Basketball
But the true scrutiny will be deflected. The series of articles covering “Why trading for Markelle Fultz was not worth two first round picks” stories have been placed back into the file cabinet. There is simply too much going on with the 76ers to attract much attention to hypothetical situations.
Yes, Markelle Fultz, you are the ideal fit for the Philadelphia 76ers. And the Philadelphia 76ers appear to be the ideal NBA team for a player of your caliber.