Markelle Fultz made his long-awaited return to the court on Monday night against the Denver Nuggets, but even he wasn't expecting the overly-warm reaction he received from the City of Brotherly love during his 14 minutes of play. The Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard confused some of the crowd's chants to Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles, who brought the city its first Lombardi trophy in February.

“I thought they were saying, ‘Nick Foles,’” Fultz said of the Super Bowl MVP quarterback for the reigning champions, according to Michael Lee of Yahoo Sports. “Then I realized it, and it was pretty dope. These fans are great, and I love them.”

Fultz shot 5-of-13 from the field, scoring 10 points, grabbing four rebounds, and dishing out eight assists — by far his best game as a Sixer of the total of five he's played this season.

“I love this game to death, and I know stuff happens,” Fultz said of his first game back after a 68-game absence. “I just had a lot of teammates, front-office staff, and coaches who really supported me through these tough times. I just worked every day, that’s all it was… It was a long journey to get here, and it felt good.”

The rookie guard wasn't in a minutes restriction, but coach Brett Brown has played the whole season without having to think of a spot for him in the rotation, so those minutes will increase as he performs through every game.

Fultz was drafted with the top overall pick this past summer after the Sixers traded their third overall pick and additional future assets to the Boston Celtics prior to the NBA Draft.