Where Does Former Sixers Pick Markelle Fultz Land in a 2017 NBA Re-Draft?

The 2017 NBA Draft was crucial for the Philadelphia 76ers. After years of tanking games and acquiring better draft capital season after season, the Sixers were finally getting ready to turn things around.

Not only did the 76ers have a budding star center in Joel Embiid, but their first-overall pick Ben Simmons was set to make his NBA debut after missing out on year one due to a foot injury.

The Sixers didn't land the top pick in the 2017 NBA Draft following the lottery but found a way to acquire it from the Boston Celtics. In late June of 2017, as the draft process was beginning to conclude, former Sixers general manager Bryan Colangelo traded the No. 3 overall pick and a future first-rounder to land the top spot in the draft.

At the time, everybody knew the Sixers planned to pick the former five-star Maryland-born guard, Markelle Fultz. After playing high school ball at DeMatha Catholic, Fultz took his talents to Washington, where he starred during his freshman season.

Fultz was supposed to be the final piece to the puzzle as the Sixers' franchise switched directions. But as we know, the Fultz experience was a strange one.

As Fultz dealt with injuries, an apparent case of "the yips," and struggled to adjust to the next level at such a young age, the Fultz era in Philadelphia was underwhelming and short-lived. During his rookie season, Fultz appeared in 14 regular-season games and averaged seven points and three assists.

By year two, Fultz had played in 19 games and put up eight points and three assists. After appearing in 33 games through two years, Fultz was moved to the Orlando Magic in 2019 in exchange for Jonathan Simmons, a first-round pick and a second-round pick.

While Fultz found some comfort and moderate personal success in Orlando, he still hadn't panned out the way many NBA organizations thought he would when he was entering the 2017 NBA Draft.

And in a recent 2017 re-draft, Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey views the former first-overall pick as a late-first-rounder rather than a must-get.

"Much of the mystery that surrounded Markelle Fultz's game and shoulder through his first few seasons is gone. Five years after the Philadelphia 76ers selected him with the No. 1 pick, he's emerged as a solid (albeit limited) playmaker and defender for the Orlando Magic.

"Fultz has averaged 15.9 points, 7.0 assists and 1.7 steals per 75 possessions for his career, and the Magic have been a little better when he's on the floor. But he's played only 26 games over the past two seasons because of a torn ACL, and his 49.6 career true shooting percentage is a bit daunting."

Fultz's re-brand in Orlando was a feel-good story considering his early career struggles in Philadelphia. But if the Sixers could rewind time, they certainly wouldn't have traded up to the first spot to land Fultz.

In a re-draft scenario, BR guesses that if the Sixers were to strike the same trade with Boston, they would've moved up to land Jayson Tatum. Or, had the Sixers stayed in the third spot, then perhaps they could've landed Miami's Bam Adebayo or Utah's Donovan Mitchell.

Considering the Sixers already had a rising star in Embiid at the big man position, they probably wouldn't have gone with a center. Selecting Tatum or Mitchell could've been excellent moves for Philly, who needed a young third star to complement Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

As for Fultz, he lands in the 19th overall spot, which would've sent him to the Atlanta Hawks to begin his career after one season with the Huskies.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.