Markelle N'Gai Fultz (born May 29, 1998) is an American professional basketball player. He used to play for the Orlando Magic in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketball for the Washington Huskies. He was chosen as the very first player in the 2017 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

During his one year (2016–17) with the Huskies, Markelle played as a point guard and shooting guard. Even though his team didn't have the best season, he was still named a top player, earning "All-American" and "All-Pac-12" honors. He started his NBA journey with the 76ers before moving to the Magic in 2019.

Markelle faced a shoulder injury called thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). This injury made it hard for him to shoot the ball the way he used to in college. Because of this, some people thought he didn't live up to the high expectations of being a top draft pick.

Early Life and High School Basketball
College Basketball Career
Professional NBA Career
- Starting with the Philadelphia 76ers (2017–2019)
- Playing for the Orlando Magic (2019–2024)
Career Statistics
Images for kids
See also

Early Life and High School Basketball

Markelle Fultz playing at the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game.

Markelle Fultz was born on May 29, 1998, in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He was the younger of two children. His mother, Ebony, was a very important person in his life. Markelle loved basketball and learned a lot from a local coach named Keith Williams when he was young.

In 2012, he started going to DeMatha Catholic High School, which is a special school that prepares students for college and has a very strong basketball team. Markelle showed promise on the freshman team. But when he was a sophomore, he was cut from the main varsity team. He was only about 5 feet 9 inches tall and moved a bit awkwardly. However, he played so well on the junior varsity team that it was clear he was too good for that level.

A coach from the Washington Huskies college team, Raphael Chillious, was one of the first to see Markelle's great potential. He thought Markelle could become an NBA All-Star if he kept growing and improving. By the start of his junior year, Markelle had grown to 6 feet 3 inches. As a starter for DeMatha's varsity team, he averaged 16.8 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. He was even named the Player of the Year in his tough high school league.

During his junior year, Markelle made game-winning shots and achieved a triple-double (getting double-digits in three different stats like points, rebounds, and assists) in a big game. His basketball reputation grew quickly, and many colleges wanted him to play for them.

On August 21, 2015, Markelle decided to play for the University of Washington. In his senior year, he averaged 19.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He also set a school record for assists in a single season with 278. He led his team to win their conference championship two years in a row. Markelle also played in big high school games like the McDonald's All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.

That summer, he was chosen to play for Team USA in the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship. Markelle was the top scorer for the team, and they won the gold medal. He was also named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP). By the end of high school, Markelle was considered one of the top basketball players in the country.

College Basketball Career

The Washington Huskies college team had hoped to have two other talented players, Dejounte Murray and Marquese Chriss, join them for the 2016–17 season. But both of those players were chosen in the NBA draft before they could play for Washington. Markelle believed that if they had stayed, the team would have been one of the best in the country.

Without those players, Markelle became the main leader and scorer for the Huskies. In his first game, he scored 30 points, even though his team lost.

Even though the Huskies had a tough season with a record of 9 wins and 22 losses, Markelle had one of the best freshman seasons in the history of the Pac-12 Conference. He averaged 23.2 points per game, which was the highest in the Pac-12 in 20 years. He also led his team in minutes played and assists, and was second in rebounds. Because of his amazing performance, Markelle was named to the First-team All-Pac-12 and Third-team All-American. Many sports experts believed he would be the very first player chosen in the 2017 NBA draft.

Professional NBA Career

Starting with the Philadelphia 76ers (2017–2019)

Markelle Fultz was chosen as the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. He signed his first professional contract on July 8. The 76ers had high hopes for their new team, which included Markelle, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons. They wanted to make it to the playoffs for the first time in years.

In his first regular season game on October 18, Markelle scored 10 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and had 1 assist. However, he soon suffered a shoulder injury. This injury, called a "scapular muscle imbalance," made it very difficult for him to shoot the basketball. He struggled with his shots and didn't attempt any three-pointers in his first four games. The 76ers decided to have him rest until he recovered.

There was a lot of talk about whether his shooting problems were due to the physical injury or something else. Markelle later made it clear that it was indeed an injury that stopped him from shooting properly.

While he was recovering, Markelle worked with a different trainer, and his shooting form seemed to change. This, along with his long recovery time, was talked about a lot. At one point, it was thought he might miss the rest of the season. But on March 26, 2018, it was announced that Markelle would return to play. Even with some struggles, he scored 10 points and had 8 assists in his return game.

On April 11, Markelle made history. At 19 years and 317 days old, he became the youngest player in NBA history at that time to get a triple-double. He scored 13 points, had 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a win against the Milwaukee Bucks. This record was later broken by another player, LaMelo Ball.

For the 2018–19 season, Markelle was named the starting shooting guard. But after 15 games, he lost that spot when the 76ers traded for Jimmy Butler. Markelle's health and playing struggles continued to be a challenge for the team. In November 2018, his agent announced that Markelle would stop playing to get his shoulder injury checked again. It was then described as thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS). This condition affects the nerves between the neck and shoulder, making it hard to move and shoot the basketball correctly.

Because of this shoulder injury, Markelle was not able to play as well as he did in college. This led some people to call him a "draft bust," meaning he didn't meet the high expectations for a first overall pick.

Playing for the Orlando Magic (2019–2024)

On February 7, 2019, Markelle was traded to the Orlando Magic. The Magic's coach said that Markelle's shoulder injury was "very serious" and that he likely wouldn't play for the rest of that season.

Markelle finally made his debut for the Magic on October 23, 2019. He scored 12 points, had 6 assists, and made 2 steals in a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On December 27, 2020, Markelle scored 26 points in a win against the Washington Wizards. However, on January 6, 2021, he suffered a torn left ACL (a serious knee injury) in a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. This injury meant he missed the rest of the 2020–21 season.

Markelle returned to play on February 28, 2022. On April 10, he had a career-high 15 assists in a win against the Miami Heat.

On March 18, 2023, Markelle scored a career-high 28 points and had four steals in a win against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Career Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

NBA Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2017–18	Philadelphia	14	0	18.1	.405	.000	.476	3.1	3.8	.9	.3	7.1
2018–19	Philadelphia	19	15	22.5	.419	.286	.568	3.7	3.1	.9	.3	8.2
2019–20	Orlando	72	60	27.7	.465	.267	.730	3.3	5.1	1.3	.2	12.1
2020–21	Orlando	8	8	26.9	.394	.250	.895	3.1	5.4	1.0	.3	12.9
2021–22	Orlando	18	3	20.0	.474	.235	.806	2.7	5.5	1.1	.3	10.8
2022–23	Orlando	60	60	29.6	.514	.310	.783	3.9	5.7	1.5	.4	14.0
2023–24	Orlando	43	18	21.2	.472	.222	.697	3.2	2.8	1.0	.3	7.8
Career		234	164	25.4	.472	.274	.731	3.4	4.6	1.2	.3	11.1

NBA Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2018	Philadelphia	3	0	7.6	.143	—	.750	1.0	1.7	.7	.0	1.7
2020	Orlando	5	5	29.3	.400	.375	.857	2.2	5.2	1.0	.6	12.0
2024	Orlando	7	0	15.1	.588	.000	.556	2.0	1.1	.4	.0	6.4
Career		15	5	18.3	.446	.353	.700	1.9	2.6	.7	.2	7.3

College Statistics

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	Washington	25	25	35.7	.476	.413	.649	5.7	5.9	1.6	1.2	23.2

Images for kids

Markelle Fultz playing at the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game.

Markelle Fultz facts for kids

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