Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz dealt with an injury for most of last year. When he made his return, the Sixers' top pick wasn't very effective because of his jump shot. He didn't look comfortable shooting more than a layup which led opposing teams to cheat against him on defense similar to how Ben Simmons is being guarded.
This offseason, Markelle Fultz spent time with shooting coach Drew Hanlen who has worked with some of the best players in the NBA. According to Jordan Schultz of Yahoo! Sports, he has a completely rebuilt jumper and will be vastly improved next year.
Palpable buzz is building around #76ers guard Markelle Fultz. One league source privy to Fultz's workouts w/famed hoops trained Drew Hanlen tells me Fultz's jumper is rebuilt and that a result, the 20-year-old guard is a completely different, vastly improved player.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 22, 2018
A big reason why Fultz didn't perform well last year when he returned in March was a case of the “yips” that kept him from having any confidence with his jump shot. Fultz's shot has come a long way in such a short period after Hanlen said last month that it wasn't perfect.
“It’s not perfect yet, but I think by the end of the summer it will be perfect, he’ll be back rolling and he’ll show people why he was the No. 1 pick,” said Hanlen, according to Philly Voice's Kyle Neubeck.
If Fultz can stay healthy this year and his jump shot is indeed that much improved, the Sixers would be receiving a huge boost.
After being the number one pick in 2017, Philadelphia barely got anything out of Fultz last year. If he can even have a half-decent year, that would be just like adding another free agent and it could get them one step closer to competing with the Boston Celtics in the East.
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