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Philadelphia 76ers rookie and No. 1 overall selection Markelle Fultz is unbothered despite not receiving a single vote among NBA general managers for Rookie of the Year in the annual GM Survey.
It was his counterpart, point guard Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers, who received an overwhelming support from executives around the league, notching 62 percent of the vote for the coveted award.
Out of the 30 general managers polled, 19 gave the passing wizard a vote to win ROY, with Fultz's teammate Ben Simmons receiving a mere 23 percent.
| Player | Votes |
| Lonzo Ball | 19 |
| Ben Simmons | 7 |
| Dennis Smith Jr. | 2 |
| De'Aaron Fox | 1 |
| Jayson Tatum | 1 |
“It really doesn’t bother me,” Fultz told Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice. “I know what I’m capable of, I know what my goals are. I don’t really look into it, that’s what they think and that’s their opinion. At the end of the day I’m going to work to do what my goals are and what my team goals are.
Fultz only had two games to show his abilities during the Summer League, forced to sit out for the remainder of it after suffering an injury early in his second game.
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The Sixers notably trade for the No. 1 pick, giving the Celtics a bundle of picks in return, including their No. 3 overall selection, who turned into Jayson Tatum — who also managed to receive a vote from one of the GMs.
Fultz is rather focusing on his dynamic with Simmons, who will at times handle point guard duties despite being listed at forward.
“It’s going to be times where [Ben’s] pushing, then I’m pushing,” said Fultz. “You never know when I’m going to be bringing the ball up , and you never know when he’s going to be bringing the ball up. It’s going to throw a lot of teams off, and I’m looking forward to it.”
As a side note, Kris Dunn of the Minnesota Timberwolves won the GM survey vote last preseason, but failed to finish even in the top 10 of the actual Rookie of the Year award voting.
