It has taken 53 games (wow, not that many) spread out over three seasons (a fairly long time) for Markelle Fultz to score 20 points in an officially-sanctioned regular-season NBA game. An informed observer would’ve noted that it was only a matter of time; prior to tonight, Fultz had had (had had had) eight consecutive double-digit scoring games, including a 19-burger. He was getting the minutes, he was getting the touches, it was just a matter of putting it all together just a little bit more tightly than he had been.
Friendly reminder, before I forget: 76ers fans are not allowed to watch this video. You talk so much about “the process”, but then give up on the first overall pick to make some cruddy win-now trade (if you can even call it that, Jonathon Simmons isn’t much of a win-now player)? That’s not very process-like, and it’s not very Hinkie-like, either. Go enjoy your Embiids and Simmonses and Horriblefords. Leave the Fultz admiration for fans of teams that didn’t just throw him into the gutter and leave him crying in a puddle of combined rainwater and motor oil.
The punishment for a 76ers fan detected watching this video will be complete and immediate deletion from the internet. For the fan, not the video.
I prefer to pretend that Fultz’s days in Philly didn’t happen at all, and that this season in Orlando is his rookie season. It might as well be, honestly, since there wasn’t much developing or anything going on with him with the 76ers. Part of that was his fault (how did he let his jumper get so broken), part of that was the franchise’s fault (how did they let his jumper get so broken), and part of it was the fan’s fault (the patronizing cheers whenever he made a shot got tiresome after a while).
But, as I said, I pretend that never happened. What matters is the here and now, and right here Fultz is performing admirably, and right now he’s the point guard of the future for the Magic (sorry D.J. Augustin, you’re too old). Now that he’s scored 20, there’s nothing stopping him from scoring 30. Literally nothing. Except for all the things that are.