Markelle Fultz explains decision to sit out start of the season, join Sacramento

Markelle Fultz shared his reasoning in now playing on an NBA team to start this season, and what made Sacramento the right fit.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Feb 20, 2025, 7:48 PM

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Watch: Markelle Fultz Explains His Decision To Sign With The Sacramento Kings, His Work This Season | 7 mins

With a lack of traditional point guards on their roster, the Sacramento Kings added free agent Markelle Fultz right before heading into the All-Star break.

The 6’4 guard joined the team for their last game in New Orleans, where Zach LaVine said he “was probably the most talkative guy on the bench.”

“Telling guys what to do, defensive coverages, pointing things out,” LaVine continued. “So, he’s just very vocal, and I think we need somebody like that. He’s always been one of my favorite guys in the NBA.”

Washington natives LaVine and Doug Christie are familiar with Fultz, who played his lone college season at the University of Washington before being selected with the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Since that point, he’s dealt with a slew of injuries that have slowed his once-elite trajectory to a serviceable back-up point guard. He filled that point guard role, both as a starter and reserve, in his previous five seasons with the Orlando Magic.

After the conclusion of last year, when Fultz averaged 7.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists on 47/22/70 shooting in 21.2 minutes per night. Yet, he elected to not start the 2024-25 season on an NBA roster. When asked about that decision, his response was simple, “Health is wealth,” he said.

“As we all know, battling injuries is about being consistent and staying healthy. So, for me, there was no reason for me to rush into anything. I feel like, for myself, I’ve already played through injuries, I’ve already played through a lot of things. So, I told myself, and I told my team that my main focus was just taking care of my body, getting myself a chance to rest, and making sure I felt strong and good enough to be able to go out there and give my all. It wasn’t a hard decision for me… I knew what I had going on. I knew what I wanted to do, and I executed that, and now I have a chance to go out there and play again.”

Markelle Fultz, Sacramento Kings practice availability (2/20/25)

Staying in shape with the faith that he would return to the NBA, Fultz has found his third NBA home after signing with the Kings for the remainder of the season. His outgoing off the court nature that LaVine mentioned earlier is something that the Washington-alum takes pride in.

“That’s just something that I’ve learned to do as a point guard,” Markelle Fultz said. “Also, coming from Orlando, being with a lot of young guys, I had to just be that voice on the floor, and I feel like communication is one way to help your teammates out… It’s second nature for me, something that I feel like can go anywhere, and I think as long as I continue to do that, I think it’s something that’s contagious, and I hope that everyone continues to pick that up.”

With a quieter group of players on the floor, adding a vocal piece like Fultz could benefit their locker room and subsequent production.

Christie referred to Fultz as “a hooper” when asked about their new point guard addition after Thursday’s practice.

“I really like what I see out of him: long, athletic. I watched him ever since he was in Washington, obviously, being from Seattle, so I know what he brings to the game. What he brings to the game with the mixture of the guys we have is probably the question mark. But, defensively, long and rangy, he has the ability to see the floor at a high level and make a lot of passes, and then his ability to score. Not like a shooter scoring, but he got to his midrange, hit a three, drove all the way to the basket after [Jonas] Valanciunas just killed a whole lane. So, it looked good.”

Fultz highlighted similar aspects of his game when outlining what he provides on the court. “Just a playmaker, a leader, doing whatever it takes to win,” he said.

“Obviously, I think my passing and being able to be a point guard and get guys in position and being able to help these guys, make it easy on them. I think that’s one thing. And then, on the other end of the floor, being a defensive pest and just really getting into the ball and make it tough on that end. I think I bring both edges and just a great teammate as well. I want to be that guy willing to do whatever it is for a teammate, whether that’s grabbing a towel, getting a water, picking them up and encouraging them, whatever that is, that’s the guy I am.”

In Fultz’s own words, he’s been working his “a** off” to get back out on the floor, taking his gratuitous perspective to a team that’s fighting to stay in the play-in mix among the crowded Western Conference. At 26 years old, he should have plenty of basketball ahead of him and hopes that his bold decision to take the start of the season to get his body right pays off in a big way down the stretch.

” I think that most people wouldn’t do what I did and be able to take that chance to take your time and get healthy, but that’s one thing I learned going through the injuries that I went through earlier in my life is that my health is my wealth,” the former number-one overall pick said. “It wasn’t a hard decision for me. It was just about making sure my body was right, and I was able to move the way I wanted to move and, like I said, now that I have that chance.”

When is the next Kings game?

The playoff push will begin on Friday night at Golden 1 Center when the Sacramento Kings face a familiar foe–the Golden State Warriors as both teams hope to climb the Western Conference standings.

Sacramento is 2-0 against the Golden State this season, winning the most recent matchup at Golden 1 Center by a final of 123-117 on January 22nd behind 32 points from DeMar DeRozan.

Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Warriors drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.