Markelle Fultz injury update: Magic guard to return Monday against Pacers after missing a year with a torn ACL

Orlando Magic point guard Markelle Fultz plans to return to the floor on Monday against the Indiana Pacers, he announced on the Orlando Magic Pod Squad. "I'm just blessed just to be able to, one, be where I am today after going through an injury like this and being able to fight and just be back on the court with my brothers and friends," Fultz said. "So, one, I'm just blessed and I'm thankful for the process and the journey that I've been through. I'm very excited just to get out there with my teammates and go out there and compete."

Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, was dealt to Orlando at the 2019 trade deadline and had improved steadily since his underwhelming tenure with the Philadelphia 76ers. In early January of 2021, though, he suffered a torn ACL in his left knee. He hasn't played since, and given his history of injuries, the Magic needed to be cautious with their young guard.

Fultz has dealt with other knee issues in the past, but the first two seasons of his NBA career were ruined by a case of thoracic outlet syndrome in his shoulder that played a part in ruining his jump shot. He's never quite recovered, and even as he improved in Orlando, he has still never shot better than 28.6 percent from behind the arc in the NBA.

The Magic team he'll be returning to is a very different one than he had been playing on. Veteran stalwarts Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier are gone. The team is now rebuilding, and young guards Jalen Suggs, R.J. Hampton and Cole Anthony are now entrenched in the backcourt. Fultz will have to compete with not only them but veterans Gary Harris and Terrence Ross for playing time.

But the Magic, at the bottom of the standings, have little to lose by putting him back on the floor. Fultz is in the middle of a $50 million contract, so Orlando would surely like to get him back up to speed and contributing as quickly as possible. Monday will be first chance to prove he has a place in Orlando's future since last season's injury.

Comments

Dennis Rodman Once Said He, Michael Jordan, And Scottie Pippen Could Lock Up LeBron James: "LeBron Is So Easy To Play. He’s So F**king Easy To Play. He Doesn’t Have Any Moves."

If there is something that will never end it is the comparison between players from different eras. Even in that niche, most comparisons revolve around the legendary players from the Chicago Bulls. Yes, we are talking about the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. A perfect example of that was seen by fans back in a 2019 interview featuring Dennis Rodman. The Worm was asked about his thoughts on guarding none other than LeBron James. Rodman replied: (starts at 6:06) "You know who could lock up LeBron? Me, Mike, and Scottie could. F*ck yeah. I would have locked his a** up. LeBron is so easy to play. He’s so f*cking easy to play, he don’t have any moves. Only move he has is streak down the line. He ain’t got no moves. Where he going?? Where is he going that’s quick? That’ll be sh*t, you can stop that. Scottie Pippen would have shut his f*cking a** down quick before I get to him. His game is too simple, he’s just big. I’m 260 and 6’8” and 6’9”, that’s the onl...

From Deep: At long last, Nikola Jokic's Nuggets can envision getting to the top of the mountain

Jamal Murray tore his ACL on April 12, 2021. Leading up to that night, he'd been playing at an All-NBA level for two months: In a 25-game stretch, Murray averaged 24.1 points on .509/.459/.935 shooting splits, 4.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists. He was even more efficient than he was in the bubble playoffs, and his defense had improved, too. Murray only got to play with Aaron Gordon, the Denver Nuggets' big trade-deadline addition, for five games. They won them all except the one in which Murray got injured. In 110 minutes, their new starting five scored slightly more efficiently than any iteration of the Kevin Durant-era death lineup in Golden State and defended like a top-five team. Two Nikola Jokic MVP awards later, Murray is back. So is Michael Porter Jr., who signed a five-year extension about a year ago and needed back surgery nine games into the 2020-21 season. The Nuggets remember how easily everything slid into place with Gordon in the mix. Newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pop...

Michael Jordan On LeBron James: "He's An Unbelievable Player, He's One Of The Best Players In The World... I'm A Fan Of His, I Love Watching Him Play..."

Even before he made it to the NBA, LeBron James was already compared to the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan. His Airness made a huge impact on the league, winning six championships in eight years, dominating rivals every night, and becoming one of the best two-way players in NBA history. During his career, and even during his retirement, many players were compared to Jordan, but nobody could live up to the expectations. LeBron James was deemed 'The Chosen One' when he was a teenager, and comparisons between him and MJ never stopped coming. They have mutual respect, and the biggest proof of that came during the 2022 All-Star Game, where MJ and Bron embraced each other in Cleveland. James would post a big pic of his first and most recent encounter with Jordan, paying respect to the man that inspired him. Just like the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has always shown his admiration for James, Jordan has done the same before. Back in 2020, during a press co...

Crossover World

Search This Blog