The Sixers Say Markelle Fultz Is In The ‘Final Stage’ Of Rehab


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The Philadelphia 76ers are 17-19 on the season after an up-and-down first third of the year, finding themselves scrapping for a playoff position in the East entering 2018.

This is the first season that The Process has been expected to yield results, and Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid have shined as proof that their many years fighting for a top lottery pick were probably worthwhile, even if Jahlil Okafor didn’t pan out. Philly has found themselves in the playoff hunt this season despite being without the services of this year’s top overall pick, Markelle Fultz, for all but four games at the beginning of the season.

Fultz has been dealing with a mysterious shoulder injury to his shooting shoulder that has been one of the most bizarre stories of this season. Fultz’s injury led him to changing his free throw form and avoiding shooting perimeter shots almost completely, and once the Sixers finally shut him down he was spotted shooting left-handed in drills. Since then, we’ve not seen much in the way of footage from the rookie guard and gotten little in the way of solid updates.

On Tuesday, we got another vague update from the team, noting that Fultz is beginning the “final stage” of his “return-to-play program,” and offering some explanation of what all that entails.

While this is a positive update regarding Fultz, it’s still not offering any kind of timetable for his return to the court and it seems like the Sixers will continue to take it slow with their top pick. The strange nature of Fultz’s injury, with it being a pain and soreness issue that’s not caused by anything structural, makes it tough to target a specific date which is why we haven’t gotten any kind of solid timetable for him.

The good news is Fultz is back on the practice court and appears to be doing actual basketball drills that involve him shooting right handed and playing 1-on-1. This is a relatively big deal considering where he was the last time we saw him.

It is a fairly incredible story that the top pick in this draft has been forced out for months with an injury that no one can seem to pinpoint exactly what’s wrong with him. In any case, hopefully Fultz will return relatively soon and be at full strength and be the player everyone thought he would be entering the draft because the Sixers could use that additional depth in the backcourt. Philly has five players averaging in double figures, but they’re in desperate need of some pop off the bench, particularly when Simmons and Embiid aren’t on the floor. Fultz could, theoretically, provide that kind of lift and bolster their rotation for a playoff push.

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