Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas believes Washington point guard Markelle Fultz will be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2017 NBA draft.
Boston has a 25 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick with the rights to Brooklyn’s unprotected pick.
Thomas, a former Washington Husky himself, played pickup with Fultz last summer in Seattle and has been following Fultz closely this season.
Isaiah Thomas believes Markelle Fultz will be the No. 1 pick "for sure" and that he could coexist with Fultz/Ball: https://t.co/Zm9iYBQ9AL
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) March 3, 2017
After playing with each other a few times over the summer, Thomas and Fultz built a relationship. They stay in contact by text messages every once in a while. So Thomas might be a little biased when he says Fultz “will be the No. 1 pick, for sure.”
It might not be ideal for the Celtics that the top prospects in this draft both play Thomas’ position, but the two-time All-Star is convinced he can thrive with any type of backcourt mate, including Fultz and Ball.
“I can play with anybody,” Thomas said. “I can play off the ball, I can come off screens, I can catch and shoot. So I think that’s, even going back to college, my first couple of years I was off the ball.”
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Fultz said he wants to be the best ever.
“I actually want to be the best to ever play this game,” he said. “And I think I have a pretty good chance to do that.”
Although knee soreness may cause Fultz’s season to prematurely end, the point guard more than showcased his talents over 25 games this season, averaging 23.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 5.9 apg.
Here’s Fultz dropping 26 points against Arizona in his final game of the season:
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