For the first time since October, No. 1 overall draft pick Markelle Fultz got into an NBA game on Monday. As expected, the Philadelphia 76ers home crowd gave Fultz a rousing ovation.
Fultz checking in to wild applause at Wells Fargo Center. pic.twitter.com/PlUPuiQVXP
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) March 26, 2018
Twitter had strong reactions to Fultz returning to the floor.
https://twitter.com/netw3rk/status/978413899719454720
Fultz quickly got on the board with a layup.
It didn't take long for Markelle Fultz to get to the hoop in his return pic.twitter.com/YTxSJ1ykv6
— Ball Don’t Lie (@Balldontlie) March 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/PaoloUggetti/status/978414342646280192
Clear eyes
Fultz hearts
Can’t lose— shamus (@shamus_clancy) March 26, 2018
This crowd is LIVING for everything Markelle Fultz does. Layup: Cheers! Bouncing a behind-the-back pass to Embiid: Cheers! Dribbling the ball like a normal point guard: Cheers! #Nuggets
— Gina Mizell (@ginamizell) March 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/NoPhlyZone5/status/978414097053224960
Some people even brought the jokes.
https://twitter.com/jgsiegel/status/978409980381380608
https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/978415671829655552
In all, Fultz’s first run on Monday was predictably up and down. In all, he had good vision of the floor, which he used as both a shooter and passer. He also struggled at times on defense, which is far from uncommon for rookies who haven’t played much.
But good, bad, and indifferent, it was nice to see him on the court.