“JJ Redick was like a big brother to me!”: Markelle Fultz thanks former teammate for defending him during his difficult tenure in Philadelphia

Former No 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz thanks former 76ers teammate JJ Redick for standing up for him when the media dragged him through the mud during his Sixers days

 

Markelle Fultz’s NBA career to date is worthy enough to be a movie. During his rookie season with the Sixers, Markelle Fultz was hit with a scapular muscle imbalance in his right shoulder. As a result, the 6-foot-3 guard wasn’t able to shoot the basketball. We all remember his awkward free throws.

With the guard not fulfilling the rookie’s high expectations, the media began to vociferously cover the rookie’s struggles. However, one Sixers teammate took serious exception to this. It was none other than JJ Redick. At the time, he commented –

“[I know] you have a responsibility to cover the story, I get it. What made me angry that day, and it had been festering, was the way in which people were covering [his issues].”

“Every practice you’d see this mad rush [by the media] to get prime footage location. They’d record him doing mundane things. The kid was 19, he’s clearly going through something.”

“I got angry and basically cussed them out. He was my rookie so I guess I was protective but also empathetic.”

Bryan Colangelo says Markelle Fultz has no range beyond the paint right now.

JJ Redick angrily yelled “The kid’s fucking 19” when the media went to film to watch Fultz shoot Friday morning.

The Fultz situation keeps getting stranger https://t.co/FjbdbiMeRI

— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) February 9, 2018

The young guard had the media and Philly’s fan base all over him. Redick having his back at that time was probably one of the best things that anyone could do.

Recently, Markelle Fultz made an appearance and thanked his former teammate for having his back. So, what exactly did he say? Read on and find out….

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Markelle Fultz is grateful that JJ Redick had his back during his time with the Philadelphia 76ers

The guard was drafted by the Sixers as the first overall pick with really high expectations. In fact, Sixers not only traded up to get Fultz, but they took him over Jayson Tatum, who has turned out to be an absolute stud for the Boston Celtics.

After he lost his touch on his shot and hit the bench with a mysterious injury, media and fans alike dragged his name through the mud. However, his teammate JJ Redick criticized the media for their coverage of Markelle Fultz’s life at the time.

Recently, Markelle Fultz made an appearance on ‘The Rematch’, where he was about the same. Look at what he had to say –

“JJ Redick stood up for me to the media. He went off on them in front of the camera and I really appreciated that a lot. He was like a big brother to me” Markelle Fultz #TheRematch #JJRedick https://t.co/U5IHeV99rU pic.twitter.com/GwGJ3a3FSB

— Etan Thomas (@etanthomas36) November 27, 2021

Markelle Fultz was traded to the Magic, where he showed glimpses of his potential. In fact, the Magic were so impressed that they gave the young guard a $50 million contract.

Unfortunately, the 23-year-old was hit the injury bug again, with the guard tearing his left knee ligament (ACL), keeping him out for the foreseeable future.

Also Read: “Kinda predicted this last month or so would be the hardest part for Klay Thompson”: Warriors’ Stephen Curry talks about his Splash Brother and how this stage of recovery is so hard on KT

Hopefully, Markelle Fultz can rehab as soon as possible and get back to playing at a high level for the Magic. God knows, every NBA fan wants to see him be successful after a difficult start to his NBA career.