Oct. 2017-present: No. 1 overall pick forgets how to shoot
The 76ers were lucky enough in 2017 to have the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft for the second year in a row.
They had selected Ben Simmons first in 2016 and general manager Bryan Colangelo wanted to match the 6-foot-10 point guard with a talented backcourt mate.
With his high shooting percentage from 3-point range plus superb ball handling and passing skills, the obvious choice was Washington guard Markelle Fultz.
Colangelo arranged a trade with Boston GM Danny Ainge, who held the first slot, so the Sixers would draft No. 1 once again.
Colangelo was showered with praise for what almost everyone saw as a fleecing of the hated Celtics.
On draft night, Sixers fans were giddy. They were getting Fultz and the backcourt was set for the next 10 years. That the Celtics seemed to have blown it even more as Ainge took at No. 3 Jayson Tatum, who was seen by many as no better than the sixth or seventh best player in the draft. It just made the night sweeter.
In summer league, Fultz looked as good as advertised. Everyone was impressed with his “hesi pull-up jimbo.”
And then came … a lot of stuff. None good.
First, Fultz had a shoulder problem and fluid had to be drained, then the Sixers said he never had fluid drained. Then his trainer supposedly had screwed up his shot, then he could not lift his arms. Whatever was happening, Fultz was not seeing the court.
The media was receiving whispers from Sixers insiders on what they thought the cause was: Fultz simply forgot how to shoot a basketball.
It became a running joke after a while. At every Sixers practice the media would whip out cameras and film Fultz shooting to the side by himself.
Fultz finally made (essentially) his NBA debut March 26, 2017, but his jumper still was not there. He went to shooting guru Drew Hanlen and put up a reported 10,000 shots over the summer amid positive reports.
To boost his confidence, Brett Brown started Fultz at the start of next season, benching J.J. Redick. Fultz actually made some 3-pointers early but his form deteriorated quickly. On Nov. 12, he showed hideous form on a free throw and alarm bells went off.
By Nov. 19, Fultz was benched in favor of T.J. McConnell in the second half of a game. The next day, Fultz’s agent pulled him from the team and said he would not play until his shoulder situation was figured out.
It took 15 days before Fultz’s camp (the Sixers were not involved in any of this) announced he had thoracic outlet syndrome and would begin rehab immediately.
Throughout the trials and tribulations, the Sixers organization had publicly supported Fultz. They praised his work ethic and what a good teammate he was.
However, eventually they decided the whole Fultz saga had turned into a soap opera and was becoming a distraction for a team looking to make a title run.
Knowing he was getting pennies to the dollar value-wise, Sixers GM Elton Brand shipped him to Orlando on Feb. 7, 2019 for journeyman Jonathon Simmons (who was awful and traded after the season), a top-20 protected first-round pick and a second rounder.
Although in the original notice it said Fultz might be back in as little as three weeks, Fultz did not play the rest of the NBA season and skipped summer league. Going into training camp for 2019-20, Orlando still is not sure when he will be ready but they emphasize what a hard worker and a great teammate he is already.
To suddenly be unable to complete a basic skill has occurred in other sports, particularly baseball.
But there are thousands of guys who have played NBA basketball and none of them have ever, out of nowhere, completely lost the ability to shoot a basketball until Fultz. The fact it happened to the No. 1 overall pick just makes it crazier.
Of course, if it is crazy or bizarre or a one-of-a-kind occurrence, it is going to happen to the Sixers.
Honorable mentions (courtesy of The Sixer Sense team suggestions):
- The ‘Confetti’ game, where confetti rained down from the rafters in a 2018 playoff game with Celtics thinking the 76ers won, but it was only a tie
- Allen Iverson getting hair braided mid-game
- The whole Ben Simmons-Kendall Jenner hookup
- Father of Kendall Marshall claiming racism when T.J. McConnell played ahead of him
- Markelle Fultz’s mom putting hidden cameras in his house
- K.J. McDaniels mother yelling at the team during a game
- Sixers almost pull off greatest upset in NBA history (in terms of teams final record) on Jan. 30, 2016, foiled by a Harrison Barnes 3-point buzzer-beater
- Sixers announce four potential new mascots, pick none.