The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t seen No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz touch the floor since Oct. 23 as he battles a lingering and mysterious shoulder injury that has broken his shooting form and confidence. But it isn’t the first time an injury has held one of Philly’s top picks off the court.
Joel Embiid can relate to Markelle Fultz’s lingering injury
Embiid shed some light on the advice he’s given Fultz, who is battling a mysterious shoulder injury and has been out since Oct. 23.
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
Joel Embiid also missed two seasons after he was drafted in 2014 when he needed foot surgery in consecutive seasons. That makes him uniquely qualified to give the rookie Fultz advice on how to traverse this difficult time early into his career.
After the 76ers defeated the Knicks, 108-92, on Monday night, Embiid shared his experience with those injuries early into his career and the advice he’s given Fultz as he battles to get back onto the court. The question begins at the 4:59 mark in the video below:
“We’ve been really close since he got to Philly, and I feel like I’m the guy who can help him the most because I’m the guy who kinda went through it. I missed two years and going through all those injuries, and that’s what he’s going through right now. I mean, all I’ve been trying to tell him is just to take his time. Everybody’s gonna criticize you, especially when you’re the No. 1 pick. Everybody’s gonna call you a bust. I was called all that during my first two years, but I don’t exactly know the origin of what the problems are. I’m still trying to figure it out, but I don’t feel like a lot of people around him have had his back. Especially since he’s only 19 years old and that can be hard. The people around you that are supposed to support you that are not supporting you is hard. I was in that situation, especially in my first year when I needed my second surgery and I lost my brother. I just wanted to quit. I just wanted to get away. I just wanted to go home and literally leave everything behind, but I’m glad I stuck with it and I kept pushing and I worked really hard. That’s a tough situation, but the main thing I always tell him is just to stay patient and to keep working hard.”
Fultz’s situation is really odd
The 76ers traded the No. 3 overall pick — which became Jayson Tatum to the Celtics — and a future top first-round pick to Boston to select Fultz No. 1 because of the scoring and play-making ability he showed in college at Washington. But because of the mysterious shoulder injury, the rookie had to change his form and is currently acclimating to shooting with a new stroke. It’s been an uphill battle to say the least.
He’s even using VR goggles now to improve his jump shot, according to Philly Voice’s Kyle Neubeck:
With Fultz, there is a different motivation to get him behind the VR goggles. The Sixers, according to multiple sources, wanted him to be able to visualize the mechanics he’ll use in a game, to remember how easy it once was for him to rise up with the ball and shoot from anywhere on the court, and to be able to do so without the glare of the cameras or other people around him. With pressure coming down on him from all angles, turning part of a teenager’s job into a video game is one way to relieve the stress of the situation.
It is growing increasingly unlikely that Fultz will play again in his rookie season. Judging by the success both Embiid and Ben Simmons had after early season-ending injuries, Fultz’s situation is par for the course.
Philly needs to take time with its rookie, just like it did with Embiid and Simmons. And if anyone is qualified to give Fultz advice, it’d be the guy who went through it twice.
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