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NBA: Ranking the last 10 No. 1 overall draft picks

By Michael Saenz

NBA New Orleans Pelicans Zion Williamson (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NBA New Orleans Pelicans Zion Williamson (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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NBA Orlando Magic
NBA Orlando Magic Markelle Fultz (Photo by Harry Aaron/Getty Images) /

9. Markelle Fultz, Philadelphia 76ers (2017)

NBA career stats: 10.6 points, 4.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 46%FG

The entire story hasn’t been written for Markelle Fultz, but it’s safe to say that he has been quite disappointing after being drafted as the top overall draft pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. In fact, the Philadelphia 76ers had decided that he’d seen enough after just 33 games. The Sixers threw in the towel on Fultz in 2019, when he was traded to the Orlando Magic.

Fultz had somewhat of a bounce-back season with the Magic this year (before it was suspended) and was averaging 12 points and five assists on 47 percent shooting from the field. Even though he’s still not as a consistent shooter as he was in college, the fact that he was on pace to play more than 70 games this season was something to be encouraged about.

Fultz probably will never be the player that many expected him to be when he was drafted as the top overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but he could become a valuable starting point guard in the NBA and is proving so with the Magic.