Charles Barkley really wanted Markelle Fultz to succeed at Philadelphia, and he made sure the world knew he was pulling for the former no. 1 pick.
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Markelle Fultz is a curious case of an NBA-ready prospect who busted due to an unidentified injury. Fultz was the talk of the nation during his lone year at Washington State. He was nearly the consensus as the no. 1 pick before the 2017 NBA Draft.
However, something seemed to be amiss with his jumpshot – a fear that Danny Ainge developed when he worked out with Boston, who owned the no. 1 pick via Brooklyn.
It came out years later that he’d been suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome. This condition forced Fultz to change his shooting form, causing a steep decline in his percentages.
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Charles Barkley put Markelle Fultz’s detractors in their place with an epic rant
The Philadelphia 76ers started their 2018-19 season off with a loss to the Boston Celtics. They won their next game against the Bulls in a 127-108 blowout.
Markelle Fultz came off the bench in that game. He played for 32 minutes and turned in a decent performance. His 12 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists also included a 3-pointer he made.
His made 3-pointer caused a wave of joy across Sixers Twitter. However, some of the skeptics found themselves questioning why a no. 1 overall pick was being coddled. When this was brought to his attention, Barkley snapped. In a memorable rant, he went after these pessimists:
“People are pulling for people. The kid’s struggling mentally with his shot, we’re all pulling for him. That’s why we’re excited to see him do well.”
“Now you just sit at home in your grandma’s basement with your drawers on, typing on your damn keyboard. Shut the hell up. We’re pulling for Markelle Fultz!”
“All the people on the Internet who are mean and sitting home and living with their parents. Like 32 years old, living with their parents wearing their drawers, watching and seeing as the world goes by them.”
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Markelle Fultz is now recording the best season of his career
Fultz has now become a crucial member of the Magic rotation, establishing himself as a starting 1-guard. The 24-year-old is averaging 13.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game on over 50% field goal percentage.
The Magic have an outside chance of making the play-in tournament. With Fultz as their best player on many nights, this has been a career revival of note for the former bust.
