Orlando Magic’s Markelle Fultz re-announces himself to the NBA world

With one career night and clutch dunk, Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz reminded the NBA world of just how good he is and still can be.

Markelle Fultz has had big moments in his comeback season for the Orlando Magic.

He started the year with a thunderous coast-to-coast one-handed jam to put an exclamation point on the Orlando Magic’s season-opening win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. There have been little moments since then — and since Markelle Fultz entered the starting lineup for D.J. Augustin for a team seeking a spark.

There was nothing quite like this. Nothing quite like the statement Fultz made in the Orlando Magic’s 125-121 win over the Washington Wizards.

With the Magic clinging to a three-point lead and 40 seconds remaining, the Magic scrambled to chase Bradley Beal off the 3-point line. They got him to drive and try to kick back out to the 3-point line.

That is where Fultz was lurking.

He tipped the pass away from Isaiah Thomas and raced to the other end of the court. He beat Davis Bertans to the rim for the two-handed dunk and the foul. He let out a primal scream as he put the game away for the Magic.

If there was ever a clear signal for Fultz and for the league, this was it. Markelle Fultz was back.

https://twitter.com/OrlandoMagic/status/1196235429718249473

The player who wowed the college basketball world and was the clear-cut top overall pick in 2017 was not merely just there. He was coming back. And he had the whole world buzzing.

There were ESPN alerts. A NBATV postgame interview. Every major NBA outlet retweeted the dunk and seemed to have some kind of coverage of Fultz’s big night.

It was a career night for him — a career-high 19 points on 8-for-10 shooting. From his first shot — a 3-pointer made over a defense willing to duck under the screen and give him the look — it seemed like Fultz was on another level.

From there, Fultz went on the attack. He weaved his way down the baseline on one possession getting to the opposite end of the rim, laying it up before the defense could react. On another, Markelle Fultz cut past his man for Nikola Vucevic to drop off a pass for a layup.

On his other big highlight of the game, Evan Fournier took the ball in transition and fed Markelle Fultz in transition. Isaiah Thomas wanted no part of the poster — or he was protecting the 3-point line with Terrence Ross in the corner — and he cleared the runway for Markelle Fultz to take off.

It was another athletic play among a host of athletic plays for Fultz. But an exclamation point to his 14-point first half.

Fultz was able to weave through the lane. He hit a pull-up jumper at one point or he spun past his man and finished at the rim in another.

Every shot he made in Sunday’s game displayed another element of his game and the creativity he has to work off the dribble and finish around the rim. This was just the first time he put everything together in a clear way.

It is no mistake that most of Fultz’s shots come at the rim. According to NBA.com, Fultz is shooting 71.4 percent from the floor and has taken 49 of his 111 field goal attempts (44.1 percent) within five feet of the basket.

The scouting report will remain to duck under screens and dare Fultz to shoot. Fultz has done well to set up his mid-range game with weaving dribbles, but his outside shot is still the big question.

So when Fultz hit back-to-back 3-pointers on pull-up jumpers in the first quarter, it was clear Fultz was in for a special night. It was clear he could start to look like that player everyone always imagined.

That is what helped make this night truly special. Fultz seemingly was able to score in all three phases. Yet, Fultz did not dominate the ball in any way. He was not aimlessly dribbling or trying to create too much on his own.

Instead, he scored when the opportunity presented itself. He kept the ball moving. His drives helped drive the team’s overall ball movement — even with a relatively low two-assist tally.

Undoubtedly, the Magic play better with Fultz on the floor. Through 12 games, Orlando has a +4.2 net rating with Fultz on the floor, including a 107.7 offensive rating. That offensive mark is only behind Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier for on-court offensive rating.

Fultz is now second on the team with 8.9 drives per game according to Second Spectrum. He shoots 52.3 percent off those drives, scoring 4.4 points per game on those drives. He does a good job putting pressure on the rim and the paint.

In all, everything Fultz has done is good. The only complaint from Sunday’s game was his four turnovers and maybe recently his relatively low assist numbers. But the Magic know how gifted a passer he can be.

This is something Magic fans know. They have seen this growth every day — and are eager to see more.

Fans have been clamoring for Fultz to play more minutes. A call that coach Steve Clifford said last week was limited by the management of his injury.

Even in Sunday’s game, the Magic were slow to bring him back in for his fourth-quarter heroics. For now, Orlando is limiting his minutes for medical reasons.

The fact that just 12 games into the season everyone is antsy to see him play more is a positive sign. Especially considering how far he has come to recover from his injury.

The rest of the NBA world is catching up to him. This was their first time seeing him perform in a pressure situation and thrive.

Fultz is essentially a rookie going through the NBA ringer the first time. The team is expecting him to have as many bad games as he does games like Sunday night. But he is playing like the high-level rookie he would have been in 2017 if he were healthy.

He makes a clear impact on the floor. That is obvious without the numbers.

A breakout from Fultz was going to happen at some point. The rest of the NBA was going to get reminded of how good he can be at some point.

He made that statement Sunday night with one play and with one scoreline. Fultz was back in the national consciousness for what he did on the court.

For him, it was a long time coming. For the team, this was the culmination of work Fultz has put in for the team this season.