Philadelphia 76ers Brett Brown Transform Markelle Fultz Defense

Washington Basketball point guard Markelle Fultz played for an offensively oriented coach Lorenzo Romar. But his skillset is the perfect clay for Philadelphia 76ers Brett Brown to sculpt into an elite defender

Washington Basketball point guard Markelle Fultz is not lauded for his defensive acumen.  He was the hot handed scoring guard on an offensively schemed PAC-12 basketball team. As such, defense was a lower priority. Now Fultz will be joining the opposite minded type of coach. Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown emphasizes defense.

He understands that NBA rookies do not score consistently, and that streaky pattern of points versus no points can shake a young man’s confidence. So he coaches rookies to emphasize defense. Strong defensively play stays with a rookie, and that success defending can kick-start the offense back into its groove.

Two Way Artistry

But creating the perfect two-way NBA player is a fine art, and Brown uses masterful brush strokes. Rookies arrive with the urge to score. Scoring gets you noticed. Scoring gets your name on the marquis.  But defense keeps you in the game. S. Brown plays both sides, urging young players to work on defense, while applauding their offensive efforts.  In the end, he forges two-way players without their knowledge.

Nik Stauskas is one such player. Robert Covington is an even better example.  Brown loves two-way players.  As such, he never ceases to work with players to that end. You can bet Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will emerge as one of the better wing defenders as a result.

Fultz capable defender

There is a distinct difference between who didn’t defend much in college versus a player who cannot defend. Markelle Fultz can defend.  He has all of the skillsets of a defender. He has the competitive mindset of a defender. And he does not back down from a challenge.

He has amazing quickness and hand speed. The quickness keeps him in the back pocket of guards driving to the basket. Hand speed gives him the deflection and blocks as the shooter shoots. That results in a missed shot.

Defender Fultz

Fultz can defend. Let’s be clear about it. He was not asked to defend at the University of Washington.  There, the Huskies defense centered around the paint.  Markelle Fultz led the offense. But he showed signs of good defense.  In this video, the camera rolls more often when Fultz has the ball. But in the events with Lonzo Ball moving it, Fultz has remarkably fast hands that disrupt the play.

In the end, that is all Brett Brown needs to work with.  Keep in mind that Markelle Fultz is a 19 year-old one-and-done young athlete whose basketball best is years in front of him.  He is a remarkably mature young athlete, and his fit with the Philadelphia 76ers is obvious and sound.

Journey to the NBA Draft

Fultz’s journey to the NBA Draft is a story unto itself.  And his elevation to the NBA is a tale of its own.  He was a player identified early on as the one player in this draft the Philadelphia 76ers should target.  As the likelihood of the 76ers selecting Fultz waned, post intensity brightened. The Philadelphia 76ers’ roster built around a Markelle Fultz player need,and the 2017 NBA Draft provided the last piece.

Realizing a dream

It is the dream of every NCAA player to land in the NBA Draft, and ultimately hear their name called first.  And its that dream that motivates players to put in long hours at the gym.

Next: Free agency: What Markelle Fultz means for the Philadelphia 76ers

Youth is a difficult time. Life is filled with distractions. Experience and wisdom are blank slates, and have yet to be filled with the juice of errors and mistakes. So the courageous young men who elect dedication to their sport early in life are to be commended.  It’s the very nature to be curious, to seek variety. A young man who can master himself has won the greatest battle of all.

True Journey Begins

But beyond the compelling narrative that placed him as the newest arrival to the Philadelphia 76ers, the true journey now begins.  Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric are all on the same page of life.  Basketball is their mistress.  Time in the gym is the highlight of the day. They are all working on their basketball craft, putting in the time now so that they have the skillsets to enjoy the rewards later.

Air Alamo

Coach Brown knows this. He knows he has a dedicated audience of talented young men who want to accomplish something special.  And he has the best of virtually all NBA support services available.  Brown and former executive Sam Hinkie built the organization around the very spot the Philadelphia 76ers now stand. A lineup of incredibly talented young men prepared to play their NBA careers together.

Team Player

Placing a fast quick-handed defender on the court elevates everyone’s defense.  One of the key players to benefit from those chase-down blocks is Jahlil Okafor.  But the team will reap the overall rewards.

Markelle Fultz, much like Ben Simmons, understand fully that the game of basketball is a true team sport. No one player wins the game. Elite as their raw talents, each has arrived to the pros with the first hand knowledge that personal bests do not mean victories. Championships require the effort of all.  The Philadelphia 76ers build around such players who understand the team concept.   Markelle Fultz will be a Brown defender. He will be a Philadelphia 76ers. But most of all, he will be a player Philadelphia will learn to love. He belongs on this team  so deeply, that Karma itself intervened to make it happen.