Orlando Magic’s Markelle Fultz Tears ACL, Done for the Season

Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz suffered a season-ending ACL injury during the team’s Wednesday night games against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Barely five minutes into the game, Fultz drove to the basket and was cut by Cavs’ rookie Isaac Okoro. Fultz left knee buckles without contact and he went down in pain before later being led off the court on a wheelchair:

Fultz was in his second season with the Magic. He signed a three-year $50M contract extension last month and was slowly showing the promise that made him the top overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Former No. 1 Pick

Fultz was the Philadelphia 76ers’ number 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft after averaging 23.2 points per game as a freshman at the University of Washington. But shortly after his NBA debut, a shoulder injury affected his shooting stroke and forced him to shoot just 33% from the floor. He ended up playing just 14 games in his rookie season and 19 games during his sophomore campaign.

He ended up getting traded to the Orlando Magic during the 2019 trade deadline. He made a successful recovery and played in 64 games with 59 starts last season. Fultz averaged 12.1 points and 5.2 assists during his first season with the Magic. He entered the 2020-21 campaign with the hopes of finally having the breakout season everybody has been waiting for.

The 22-year old was off to a fast start as he averaged 20 points per game in Orlando’s first three games. But in the last four games he completed, Fultz began to struggle with his efficiency and he was shooting just 31% from the field during those games. Still, he was a key part of the Magic’s early-season success.

Magic’s 6-2 Start

Despite having just the 3rd best odds to win the Southeast division at +500 and being just 9th in the Eastern Conference odds board at +5000 at BetOnline, Orlando is off to a great start this season. The Magic are currently at 6-2 and on top of the Southeast Division and 2nd best in the East heading to Thursday’s games.

Fultz was having a good start as well as he was averaging 14.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game while playing in all of Orlando’s first seven games of the campaign. With him, out for the rest of the season, veteran Michael Carter Williams and rookie Cole Anthony will likely see their minutes go up. Orlando’s two-way players Jordan Bone and Karim Mane are also point guards so filling in the position won’t be that big of an issue, at least as far as this season is concerned.

But bigger than the short-term disappointment for the Magic is the fact that Fultz will be missing another year of development. Remember that he played in just 33 games during his first two NBA seasons before he was traded to Orlando.

That means he will finish his rookie contract with only 113 regular season games and 8 postseason appearances. Considering that the world has been waiting for him to justify himself as a former number 1 pick, that will have to wait much longer.