76ers pick Fultz No. 1 overall in NBA Draft

Washington point guard joins young team in Philly

The Philadelphia 76ers picked Washington point guard Markelle Fultz with the top overall pick in Thursday's NBA Draft.

 

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Philadelphia, which was picking No. 1 overall for the second straight year, acquired the top pick in the draft from the Boston Celtics in a trade completed earlier this week. Boston received the No. 3 overall pick and a future first-round pick in the deal.

 

Fultz, 19, averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds in his freshman season with the Huskies. Despite Fultz's numbers, Washington struggled to a 9-22 record, ultimately losing in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament.

 

The 6-foot-4-inch Maryland native joins a young 76ers team with plenty of talent chosen high in the draft in previous years. Philly chose Louisiana State forward Ben Simmons with the No. 1 pick in 2016, but he missed the entire season with a broken right foot suffered in training camp.

 

Also on the team are centers Jahlil Okafor and Joel Embiid, who were selected No. 3 overall in 2015 and 2014, respectively. Both have struggled with injuries so far in the NBA, with Okafor missing time his first two seasons with knee issues and Embiid losing his first two seasons to a foot injury before a knee injury limited him to 31 games this year.

 

The Los Angeles Lakers had the second pick in the draft and took UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball.

With its No. 3 pick, Boston took Jayson Tatum of Duke. Josh Jackson of Kansas went to Phoenix as No. 4 and De'Aaron Fox of Kentucky went to Sacramento as the No. 5 pick.