Markelle Fultz Is a Sure Thing
The Washington point guard is the best prospect since Karl-Anthony Towns
On June 22nd, the 2017 NBA Draft will begin with the Boston Celtics taking Markelle Fultz with the top overall selection. Fultz is the no brainer first pick of this year’s draft. We’ve seen this before, as the last three seasons have had #1 picks that were mostly pre-determined in Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Ben Simmons.
While Wiggins and Simmons were the best players in their respective classes going into the draft, neither were sure things. Wiggins had defensive issues, and Simmons had jump shot issues, and both are still dealing with those. Towns on the other hand was a slam dunk pick for the Timberwolves. He was a terrific all around player in college and had a sky high ceiling that we are all witnessing right now. Towns will probably be one of the best players in the NBA in a few years.
So where does Fultz rank among these three players? He’s right up there with Towns as a slam dunk pick that has a chance to be one of the NBA’s best players in the next couple of years. The Celtics are one of the best teams in the NBA, and they are getting a player that can help them win now and eventually become their best player.
All Around Offense
Fultz’s best attribute is his offensive skill set. In the NBA, successful guards are those that are good in pick and roll, can get their own shot, and get other teammates involved by making the right play and not turning the ball over. Fultz is exceptional in every one of those areas.
In pick and roll situations, Fultz shows an impressive ability to attack with patience. He’s an elite athlete, but knows exactly when to explode as opposed to most young players that don’t know when to stop going full speed. This allows him to use his vision to know where exactly to go when using a screen. Knowing where and when to attack allowed Fultz to keep his turnovers down despite a ridiculous usage rate. Here’s how he compares to the other top point guards in the draft in terms of turnover rate.
Markelle Fultz: 31.4% usage rate/13.4% turnover rate
Lonzo Ball: 18.1% usage rate/18.6% turnover rate
De’Aaron Fox: 27.6% usage rate/13.7% turnover rate
Compared to Ball and Fox, Fultz has the much higher usage rate with the lowest turnover rate. For a player that has the ball in his hands all the time with Washington this season, it’s incredible that his turnovers were so low. Fultz averaged 23.2 points per game, so when he had the ball something good was happening for his team.
Then you have the three level scoring that most college prospects don’t have developed by the time they’re 19-years-old. Three level scoring means that a player is effective when scoring the ball at the rim, from the mid range, and from three.
Fultz is going to come into the NBA with a skill set that will allow him to be a threat from anywhere on the floor. That is rare for rookies who typically have only one area that they can hang their hat on.
On a team like the Celtics, Fultz’s offense is going to be needed a few years down the line to help Isaiah Thomas. However, Fultz’s abilities right now can help Boston’s second unit when Thomas goes to the bench. He can play either on or off the ball and be equally effective from either guard spot.
Underrated Defense
The knock on Fultz’s game is that he takes plays off on defense, and that his effort isn’t consistent on that end of the floor. If you take a closer look at the tape, you’ll see that he is fully engaged on defense, but is let down by his teammates. Alex Kungu of CelticsBlog wrote an in depth review of Fultz’s defense, and highlighted the ability Fultz has to make plays on the defensive end late in games despite playing 35 minutes per game out of a total 40.
Fultz averaged 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game at Washington, so the instincts are definitely there. Then you have the 6'4" 195 pound frame coupled with a 6'10" wingspan that could make Fultz an elite defensive stopper. When locked in, Fultz doesn’t let anyone past him.
On a team like the Celtics with a ton of exceptional individual defenders, Fultz could focus in on playing defense without worrying about his teammates making mistakes. He could learn from Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley, and thrive on that end of the floor to become an all around stud.
When you look at Fultz as a draft prospect, you can see the amount of strengths as well as the absence of weakness. He can score from anywhere on the floor, run the pick and roll effectively without turning it over, and play defense very well. You’ll find that Fultz doesn’t have any weaknesses, which is similar to what Towns was coming out of Kentucky.
Towns was a complete player. He could score from the post, hit the hump shot, and play exceptional defense on multiple positions. The knock on him was that he wasn’t that great of an athlete, but those statements haven’t really mattered so far in his career. Towns is one of the best young players in the NBA today, and Fultz might be a more polished prospect than him.
Fultz has the athletic ability and defensive potential of Russell Westbrook, but also has the patience and scoring ability of James Harden. Couple those two skill sets together and you have the potential for a dynamic two way player that would be absolutely unstoppable on the offensive end of the floor.
