Many basketball experts have diagnosed Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz with a case of “the yips,” a condition in which an athlete forgets how to perform the very skills that have made him so prominent. While the Sixers had been adamant that the hitch on his shot is a result of lingering injuries to his shoulder and wrist areas, others believe that Fultz is getting bad advice by being told that it’s his injury causing his struggles, rather than his battles with anxiety.
According to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the tornado of opinions has done little to help Fultz, as his agent Raymond Brothers has done a poor job with his damage control in the midst of newborn stories about his condition and recently-fired personal trainer Drew Hanlen hasn’t helped much either, often giving a different prognosis than the team and specialists have during his year-and-change with the Sixers.
“Some sources said Fultz is getting bad advice. They said that the anxiety that resulted from the advice — not a shoulder injury — has affected his shooting. Some observers said there is no hitch in his shot when Fultz is in a good place mentally. But his shot is a mess during stressful times.”
Fultz shot a brilliant 47.6 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from deep as a freshman at the University of Washington, ranking sixth in the nation in scoring and regarded as one of the best pure scorers of his generation. Yet his entrance into the league was anything but glamorous, rather outshined by a struggling Lonzo Ball and a thriving Jayson Tatum, who he was virtually traded for prior to draft night.
The Washington native had no signs of a struggle in college, but his transition to the NBA saw a much different story as he tried to elevate his release point to launch 3-pointers from NBA range — a correction that ultimately seems to have derailed what once was an effective shooting form.
