No. 1 overall pick, Philadelphia 76ers, 2017
It’s hard to remember, but Markelle Fultz was once the unquestioned No. 1 prospect in the 2017 NBA Draft. Before the shooting form changes, before the prolonged medical absence, and the confidence issues, and “scapular dyskinesia,” Fultz was a point guard with NBA size who looked like he had a complete skill-set for success at the next level. Fultz was a strong finisher, handler and pull-up shooter, and he showed a good passing package as well. There were better lead guards at all of these things this decade, but Fultz was one of the best blends of the offensive package you could ask for.
The one legitimate gripe you could have about Fultz was his team impact, as a player of his stature should have had more of an impact on his team’s success at the college level. Washington was bad that year, certainly, but seeing other cases like Fultz’s — Young at Oklahoma, Lillard and Morant at their smaller schools — where the players were able to drag their teams to the NCAA Tournament themselves does bring up the question of how much his continued lack of impact with the Orlando Magic was indicated by his Washington performance. Without a doubt, Fultz is the weirdest case of a top-five pick of the last decade, even weirder than Anthony Bennett. But just based on his pre-draft profile, Fultz was absolutely one of the top prospects of the decade, even if there was doubt about his franchise-changing impact.