Orlando Magic 2024 Fantasy Basketball Studs and Duds
Stud: Markelle Fultz
The national narrative on Markelle Fultz is that he is a bust. Or if he is not a bust, he is a low-level starter, someone the Orlando Magic should be looking to upgrade and change.
That latter part might be something the team learns and discovers this season, but it certainly is not the assessment entering the season.
The Magic feel very comfortable with Fultz as the starting point guard to start the year. And there is no reason to believe anyone will challenge him for that spot. He is a dynamic player who can score, shoot effectively and dish the ball.
Fultz is quietly one of the biggest stat-stuffers on the team.
Last year, he averaged 14.0 points per game and 5.9 assists per game on 51.4/31.0/78.3 shooting splits. He added 1.5 steals per game for good measure.
After the All-Star Break, Fultz really stepped his game up. He averaged 15.6 points and 6.0 assists per game on 53.3/32.4/81.1 shooting splits and an additional 1.4 steals per game.
This is all to say, Fultz really filled up a stat sheet. And while he is not a 3-point shooter (although he improved greatly in that category later in the season), he is effective shooting just about everywhere else. He had a 56.1 percent true shooting percentage (which also accounts for his free throw shooting) and 58.5 percent after the All-Star Break.
Fultz may never be “First Overall Pick Markelle Fultz” again. But the talent that made him that player began to peak out at the end of the season.
Injuries have been the biggest storyline in his career so far. Whether that is the knee injury that cut his college season at Washington short or the TOS that killed his time with the Philadelphia 76ers or the ACL injury that haled his progress with the Orlando Magic.
Injuries were again the story last year with Fultz missing the first 20 games of the season with a fractured toe.
When Fultz has had sustained periods of health, he has produced. And the hope is that Fultz has had a fully healthy offseason to get into training camp and build from there.
If that is the case, Fultz could be due for a big season. The kind of season that fills a box score and makes fantasy basketball owners very very happy.