Perhaps no member of the 76ers roster - or few other players in the NBA, for that matter - will be entering the new season with the same type of intrigue as that which will surround Markelle Fultz. And following an encouraging pre-season, Fultz both seems and sounds like he’s in a good place.
On our latest episode of The BroadCast, listen to an extensive feature on Fultz, and his outlook for the year ahead. Plus, hear from Celtics.com reporter Marc D’Amico, who previews the Sixers' season-opening match-up with the Boston Celtics.
To listen to the complete podcast, click below. Be sure to check out some excerpts of Fultz's comments as well.
Tell me about your summer routine.
"At the end of the day, I was just grinding, getting back to that love of working hard to get what you want. That’s literally what it was the whole summer. I had little to no breaks. Just getting close to that feeling of being back to the season, as it got closer and closer, I got more and more excited, just to be able to showcase myself and get back around the people who made me happy last year, like my teammates."
150,000 shots - is that an accurate number?
"I think that’s actually a little bit lower than what I shot because those are just shots I shot in the gym, those aren’t the shots that people don’t see - at home when I’m just shooting around, or when I go to the playground and play. I definitely shot 150,000 shots. I put in a lot, a lot of hours, but it wasn’t around the shots, really. It was about the hard work I put in. I didn’t do it for the publicity. I did it for myself, to get an outcome that I wanted. I’m happy with the work I put in."
What happened last season - in some ways was that a silver lining, given how it’s affected your approach going into this year?
"I think it would be different. Last year, I think the stuff that happened to me only made me a better man and basketball player. Some people can look at it as something bad, but I look at it as a blessing. A blessing for me to see that early in my first year in the NBA at the young age of 19, just to be able to go through that makes me more hungry to work hard, makes me not take anything for granted, and makes me appreciate where I’m at every day I wake up. It’s a blessing to be here. No matter what’s going on in my life, I know that at the end of the day, I’m blessed, and I’m in an opportunity that not many have."
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