Philadelphia 76ers: Top 10 moments of 2018

1. The return of Markelle Fultz

Let’s just state the obvious: Sixers rookies are cursed.

It’s become almost a rite of passage the last few years for those lucky enough to be drafted by the Sixers to suffer from some sort of physical ailment to delay their debuts. Just to refresh your memory real quick:

• Nerlens Noel: missed his entire rookie year due to knee surgery.
• Joel Embiid: missed first two seasons due to back and foot problems.
• Ben Simmons: missed his entire rookie year due to a Jones fracture.
• (We’ll get to Markelle in a second)
• Zhaire Smith: has yet to play this season due to a Jones fracture, with his rehabilitation being complicated by an allergic reaction to sesame (which doesn’t get talked about nearly enough).

You can’t deny that there is a curse when it comes to this team and its first-year players, which really takes this team’s knack for being weird over the top. Yet when it comes to the Sixers rookie curse, the curious case of Markelle Fultz is in its own echelon.

We all know the saga quite well at this point. The former first-overall pick, whom we all slated to be the third star alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, began experiencing a very noticeable hitch in his jump shot as a result of what was called at the time a “scapular muscle imbalance”. He was then shut down for the foreseeable future, and what followed was a myriad of confusing, vague medical updates, a flood of videos of him shooting at practice, and just overall uncertainty about Markelle’s future. It was such a mess.

Then on March 26, Fultz was unexpectedly listed as available for that night’s game against the Denver Nuggets (a game I happened to attend) after a nearly five months-long absence.

Upon announcing that he was active, it appeared as though Brett Brown was pretty emotional doing so, and who could blame him? Markelle has experienced a level of ridicule and criticism most 19-year-olds never even think of having to deal with. He was (and still is) under the strongest of microscopes. So to see him finally return to the court after this whole ordeal was important, especially for Markelle.

It helped that the fans clearly had his back too. He received a rousing ovation when he first checked into the game. Fans engaged in yet another mocking of the Minnesota Vikings’ “Skol” chant, this time chanting “Fultz”. They went wild whenever he touched the ball. When he pulled up for a few mid-range opportunities, the crowd was on its feet.

Overall, he put together a surprisingly productive performance. In 14 minutes of action, he had 10 points, four rebounds, and 8 assists. He didn’t blow you away, but it made you feel hopeful that maybe he was turning a corner.

Of course, we all know where he stands as of right now. But for one night, we forgot all about the enigma that is Markelle Fultz and he provided us, if anything, a glimmer of hope.