ESPN Philadelphia 76ers No. 1 overall selection Markelle Fultz lays on the ground in pain after an ankle injury.
In just his fourth NBA game,Philadelphia 76ers No. 1 overall draft pick Markelle Fultz was helped to the locker room with and was diagnosed with a sprained ankle.
The 76ers were playing in a Summer League game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, and with 8 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the crowd was silent as the 76ers’ star fell to the ground in pain.
Fultz was sprinting through the lane trying to making a running block from behind. As he planted his left leg to take off, he rolled his ankle on the heel of Jabari Brown of the Warriors.
Watch a video of the scary play below:
Fultz laid on the ground for about a minute, unable to get up. Instead, his teammates helped him down the tunnel and into the locker room to be evaluated by doctors.
Markelle Fultz gets helped off the court after apparently suffering an ankle injury 😳🙁
(via @clippittv)
76ers General Manager Brian Colangelo told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that the doctors diagnosed Fultz with a sprained ankle. He missed the rest of the game and was replaced by Brandon Austin.
It’s currently unclear how long he will be out of action for, but Philadelphia can take a huge collective sigh of relief.
Before the injury, Fultz was struggling in the game, shooting 3-for-12 from the field with 8 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 15 minutes on the court.
Minutes later, the ESPN broadcast showed a video of a wheelchair being brought to the 76ers’ locker room for Fultz, who’s the fifth top 10 pick by the organization in the last five years. They selected Ben Simmons at No. 1 overall in 2016, Jahlil Okafor in 2015 (No. 3), Joel Embiid in 2014 (No. 3) and Nerlens Noel in 2013 (traded from New Orleans to Philadelphia at No. 6). All five have had a history of injuries early in their careers, so there’s good reason 76ers fans to be very concerned.
Oh no no no.. don’t do this to us
Noel missed his entire rookie season while recovering from an ACL injury while Embiid did so as well because of a foot injury. In addition to that, Embiid missed much of this past season due to a torn meniscus. Simmons also missed his entire rookie season because of a fractured foot, while Okafor played just 53 games of his rookie season because of a meniscus injury.
