The Philadelphia 76ers are very high on their prized rookie and No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft Markelle Fultz. They traded three 1st round picks to move up two spots to draft him and are clearly convinced that he is the biggest star in the 2017 draft class.
Apparently Fultz’s peers don’t agree.
According to a rookie survey in which 39 rookies were polled by NBA.com’s John Schumann on their thoughts on players in their class, only two of the 39 thought Fultz would have the best career of any player in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Here is how the voting went down…
“1. Lonzo Ball, L.A. Lakers — 18.4%
Jayson Tatum, Boston — 18.4%
3. Josh Jackson, Phoenix — 10.5%
Dennis Smith Jr., Dallas — 10.5%
5. De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento — 7.9%
6. Markelle Fultz, Philadelphia — 5.3%
Harry Giles, Sacramento — 5.3%
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia — 5.3%
Others receiving votes: Jarrett Allen, Brooklyn; John Collins, Atlanta; Jonathan Isaac, Orlando; Luke Kennard, Detroit; Kyle Kuzma, L.A. Lakers; Donovan Mitchell, Utah; Malik Monk, Charlotte”
One has to think that some, if not many, of the rookies forgot that Ben Simmons is technically a rookie this season after missing all of last season due to injury. The rest of the list makes some sense based on draft experts and where they were drafted, but Fultz getting the same amount of votes as Harry Giles is shocking to say the least.
Not that any of this matters and opinions will obviously change as these players establish their value on the court, but it is pretty interesting to see that Fultz isn’t seen as a special talent by his peers.
This could be another instance of players not being the best evaluators of other players, just listen to any former player compare players in his era to the players of today.
