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It’s been a really wild ride for Orlando Magic point guard Markelle Fultz. He was picked No. 1 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2017 NBA draft and looked incredible in Summer League. However, once the regular season started, Fultz was having issues with his right shoulder, so much so that he didn’t attempt a single 3-pointer through the first four games of his career.
The 76ers sat him indefinitely, waiting for the injury to get corrected. He would come back later in the season to become the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.
This season, Fultz was named the starting off guard, a position he lost when the 76ers traded for Jimmy Butler. On Nov. 20, Fultz’s agent decided to shut him down until he had an evaluation on that same hurt shoulder. Fultz would be diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome, which limits the range of motion in the shoulder. Philly would move him at the trade deadline to Orlando for Jonathan Simmons and draft picks.
While Fultz won’t return to basketball this season, his rehab is apparently going pretty well, according to The Athletic.
“It’s going great. I’m feeling really good. I’m happy. I’m blessed. And as I’m going forward, I’m just sticking with the plan and just going through rehab.
I’m just doing rehab and a little bit of stuff on court. But I’m just keeping it pretty basic, just sticking to the rehab part. I am doing a lot of conditioning, a lot of stuff on the court.”
The Magic have been playing better than 0.500 basketball since the All-Star break and have won four of their last six. They have a good, young core, and could make a significant leap next season if Fultz can become a version of who he was before the injury.
