By John Williams, Sports Talk Philly staff 
If you have looked at any NBA mock draft over the last 12 months, Washington guard Markelle Fultz has been at the top of it. The Maryland native has blown away scouts and analysts from all over the country with his play since his junior year of high school, the year after he was bumped up from DeMatha Catholic's junior varsity squad.
Sixers fans have been dreaming about Fultz joining ‘The Process’ for months. It didn’t look like a possibility for a while—the prospect of trading down came up way more often over the past couple of weeks, actually—but GM Bryan Colangelo was able to agree to terms on a deal with Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge to acquire the first overall pick in this year’s draft.
Now that it seems like Fultz is already a Sixer, although he won’t be until Thursday unless something crazy happens in the meantime, let’s look at why the guard is in another tier when it comes to draft prospects.
For starters, Fultz may be one of the most polished offensive players to come out of college in the past decade. He averaged 23 points in his freshman season, shooting at a 47.6 percent clip from the floor and a 41.3 percent mark from three-point land. Fultz, as evidenced by the video above, can literally score from anywhere. Not only that but he can create his own shot effortlessly.
Fultz is a 6-foot-5 guard with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. That is fantastic size for a combo guard in this league, and Fultz makes sure he uses it. On top of being a great shooter from the outside, Fultz is not afraid to get physical and is quite good at scoring through contact in the paint. Fultz has the combination of smarts, speed, body control and a sweet stroke that make him a pain for the opposing defender to contain, which has been his calling card since his junior year of high school.
Fultz is also a dynamic passer. His court vision is top notch and the dual threat of a guy who can pass and shot as well as he can is very dangerous. He averaged 5.9 assists a game with a group of teammates who shot a combined 28.6 percent from three. It’s never a bad thing to have a lot of great passers on a team. With players like Ben Simmons, Robert Covington and Dario Saric here already who can pass with the best of them, adding a dual threat like Fultz would fit head coach Brett Brown's system to a tee.
Not everything is all sunshine and dandelions when it comes to Fultz, though. Analysts often say that Fultz isn’t a very good defender, but with a 6’10” wingspan and the quickness he possesses, there is no reason why Fultz can’t grow in his defensive game. He has all the tools to be a terrific defender in the future. Also, it's worth noting that Washington's team last year, outside of Fultz, was filled with mediocre players. When the whole team can’t defend, you can’t blame just one player, no matter how highly thought of they are.
Which leads to the next knock on him; Washington was horrible last season.
Fultz’s team finished the season 9-22. A lot of people are of the mindset that a player like Fultz should be able to carry a team to a much better record, but when you teammates only shoot 28 percent from three, you don’t really stand a chance.
Also, it is worth noting that Fultz doesn’t even need to be THE guy in Philly, since Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are there. When the Sixers are winning games with their future 1st rounder on the court with the other members of their future big three, nobody is going to remember his college team's record.
