The Sixer Sense
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers Markelle Fultz knee sore once more

By Bret Stuter

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 09: Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers Dribbles down the court during the second half of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on October 9, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 09: Markelle Fultz #20 of the Philadelphia 76ers Dribbles down the court during the second half of the game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on October 9, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 09: Markelle Fultz
BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 09: Markelle Fultz /

Philadelphia 76ers Markelle Fultz missed a significant number of games with the Washington Huskies due to sore knees. Now a knee is sore once more.

Caveat Emptor. Let the buyer beware. But seriously, this is not new news. The 2017 NBA Draft happened months ago. The NBA Combine happened prior to that. Markelle Fultz attended the 2017 NBA Combine, in part, to assuage concerns over his sore knee. And the Philadelphia 76ers were impressed enough to trade up to select the young man.

That knee issue again.  Doesn’t it seem to happen to a 76ers player like some bad case of the “Deja Vu’s”?   The young guard played in 25 of the team’s 31 games, with the absence occurring as the season ended.  At the time, the only commentary coming from his college head coach Lorenzo Romar was “sore knees”.  Those knees placed Fultz on the bench as the team entered the Pac-12 men’s basketball championship.  At the time, that seemed like a short-cut to something more significant.

Now, before the season starts, the young man has a problem once more. You guessed it, in his right knee.

Vetted, but repetitive

Now, there is NO WAY that each and every NBA team did not examine, test, study the charts, and confirm a healthy knee diagnosis during the NBA evaluation period.  The problem is THIS player on THIS team with KNEE questions is going to hit landmines all across the fanbase.

There is always a cause for concern when an injury repeats within a year for a professional athlete. Fans must instantly determine, with little to no facts available, many things: Is this a new injury? Was the last injury simply not healed properly?  What isn’t the team telling us? Is this a bigger story? Is there some underlying cause for the same injury to the same player?

The news is magnified significantly when it happens to the number one draft pick. That same pick the Philadelphia 76ers dealt a first round (third) in 2017, and an additional first round pick (either 2018 or 2019).

The curse of the concerning knee

The Philadelphia 76ers have been cursed with knee issues. Center Nerlens Noel had an ACL injury when the Philadelphia 76ers traded for him in the 2013 NBA Draft. Joel Embiid followed with a foot injury, but the 2014 third pick injured his knee last year and missed 51 games.   2015 third pick Jahlil Okafor injured his knee after 51 games in 2016 and has been plagued with pain ever since. Even Robert Covington was shut down last season over his knee.

Complicating all of this is the fact that the team has not always been forthcoming over knee injuries. That mixed bag of information has left many fans squeamish and distrusting the news from the team over player health.

Next: Ranking the Sixers: No. 1, Joel Embiid

So now the team with so much bad history over knees has a player with so many questions over his knee. Is it cause for alarm?  Hopefully not. But we’ve been here before, and the outcomes have been somewhat… lacking.

We will continue to monitor this story throughout the year. And hopefully this will prove to be nothing.