2 min read • February 28, 2022
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Markelle Fultz will play in his first basketball game in 418 days when the Magic take on the Pacers Monday night.
Fultz suffered a torn ACL in his left knee just eight games into last season.
The 23-year-old announced his plans to return on the Orlando Magic Pod Squad podcast and posted an Instagram story Monday morning with the words "Game day."
It remains unclear how many minutes he will play in his debut, but his knee health is not as much of a concern as his conditioning.
The Magic are 14-47 and wouldn't allow Fultz to return to the court if his knee was not ready for action.
Fultz, the former 2017 No. 1 overall pick, had a tumultuous first two years in Philadelphia because of thoracic outlet syndrome in his shoulder. The injury severely affected his jumpshot and ability to shoot free throws.
He played just 33 games for the 76ers in his first two seasons, then was dealt to Orlando at the 2019 trade deadline in exchange for Jonathon Simmons, a 2019 second round pick and a 2020 first round pick.
Fultz played 72 games for Orlando in 2020 and averaged 12.1 points, 5.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 27.7 minutes per game. He shot 50.7% from the field but just 26.7% from three-point range.
The Magic are favored by 1 point at home against the 21-41 Pacers and the over/under is 232.5, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Update
Fultz will reportedly play 16-20 minutes off the bench.
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