Philadelphia 76ers Markelle Fultz last piece to elite team play

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – JUNE 23: The Philadelphia 76ers host a post draft press conference announcing new players Anzejs Pasecniks, Markelle Fultz, Jonah Bolden and Mathias Lessort at the Sixers Training Complex on June 23, 2017 in Camden, New Jersey. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant /NBAE via Getty Images) /

Compare Rookies

Let’s compare the possible NBA rookies. But as we do so, I add these words of caution. In his rookie season, T.J. McConnell outplayed De’Angelo Russell. Is he truly the better player? Likely no. But the team needed his play and so he had far more opportunities to excel. And that is the challenge in judging rookie play. How much of the performance is rookie adapting to the team style of play, and how much is the team adapting to the rookie style of play?:

Rk	Player	G	GS	MP	FG%	3P%	2P%	eFG%	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	PPG
1	Lonzo Ball\balllo01	23	23	757	31.3%	25.0%	36.5%	36.9%	50.0%	158	160	31	19	8.70
2	De'Aaron Fox\foxde01	23	10	600	40.3%	28.1%	42.2%	42.2%	71.4%	75	97	20	6	10.26
3	Markelle Fultz\fultzma01	4	0	76	33.3%		33.3%	33.3%	50.0%	9	7	2	1	6.00
4	Josh Jackson\jacksjo02	25	4	533	38.9%	24.6%	44.2%	42.3%	52.2%	91	25	32	5	9.08
5	Malik Monk\monkma01	19	0	335	34.5%	32.9%	36.5%	43.9%	75.0%	29	36	5	3	7.47
6	Jayson Tatum\tatumja01	25	25	760	51.1%	51.3%	51.0%	59.7%	82.8%	133	36	24	21	13.92

As you can see, Markelle Fultz with just four games of play is certainly not atop the performance charts just yet. But just wait, he will make a believer of you yet.