Apr. 11 vs. Bucks — Markelle Fultz’s triple-double
After what is most aptly described as the strangest rookie season in NBA history, there was no better way to wrap it up than the way Markelle Fultz closed out his first NBA season.
The Sixers drafted Fultz No. 1 overall last season after trading up with the Boston Celtics, and from Summer League to training camp he seemingly forgot how to do the thing that makes him a dynamic prospect — shoot.
Fultz played the first four games of the season and then missed 68 straight games with a mysterious injury/reworking of his shot.
But he returned for the last 10 games of the regular season and closed it out with a memorable performance — a triple-double off the bench.
Fultz became the second Sixer to record a triple-double off the bench when he scored 13 points, grabbed 10 boards and dished out 10 assists in the blowout win over the Bucks that capped off the team’s 16-game winning streak to close out the regular season.
Just like T.J. McConnell’s triple-double earlier in the season, it was evident how much Fultz’s teammates, namely Joel Embiid, truly care about him and want him to succeed. Fultz received the same postgame treatment as McConnell, getting drenched with water during his postgame interview and then again in the locker room.
Fultz now enters the most crucial offseason of his young career and still has a chance to prove that he’s the same prospect the team drafted out of Washington.