Then Magic guard Markelle Fultz (20) drives to the basket against Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (13) in the 2024 playoffs. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Ex-Husky Fultz Returns to NBA From the Game's Shadows

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Mar 23, 2026 7:49 PM ET

Becoming the 2017 NBA No. 1 draft pick was supposed to provide Markelle Fultz with something akin to basketball immortality.

Job security, unlimited.

A place in a special fraternity, no less.

Instead, the 6-foot-4 former University of Washington multi-purpose guard finds himself doing whatever he can survive the rigors of the pro game, emerging on Monday with a 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors.

It's been 11 months since he last pulled on an NBA uniform, when he was with the Sacramento Kings for 21 games.

In fact, Fultz hasn't experienced sufficient basketball greatness since he played as a freshman for Lorenzo Romar's 2017 Husky team and averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists.

He was named first-team All-Pac-12 and third-team All-American.

Former UW assistant coach Raphael Chilious, who came through Alaska Airlines Arena with Utah in December, was responsible for bringing Fultz to Seattle from Maryland, with this Husky signing considered a program coup.

Fultz was a 5-star prospect, ESPN's No. 22 player in its Top 100 and a McDonald's All-American for schoolboy powerhouse DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland. He chose the UW over Arizona and Louisville.

The initial plan in Montlake was Fultz would team with 6-foot-4 guard Dejounte Murray and 6-foot-9 big man Marquese Chriss, who were coming off their freshmen seasons in 2016 but declared for the NBA Draft.

For a 19-15 NIT team, Murray averaged 16.1 points and 6 rebounds an outing, while Chriss averaged 13.7 points and 5.4 rebounds. Chriss was drafted eighth overall, Murray 29th.

"I think we would have been the No. 1 team in the country," Fultz said had they played together.

Lately the guard finds himself on the peripheral of the NBA as he joins his fourth team in nine seasons.

Injuries and possibly the mental residue that comes with them have stalled his career over time.

Notably, he suffered a shoulder injury early on that seemed to change everything for him, including his shooting form, confidence and, of course, his stature in the game.

Former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz is signing a 10-day contract with the Toronto Raptors, Raymond Brothers of I Am Sports & Entertainment tells ESPN. Fultz joins Toronto for his ninth NBA season after spending time with the Raptors 905 G League team. pic.twitter.com/vkaYURhzdB
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 23, 2026

Fultz, 27, recently played five games with the Raptors 905 G League team in what amounted to another basketball audition.

He'll join Toronto's big-league team with 255 regular-season games under his belt.

Fultz has had just one strong pro season, when he averaged 14 points and 5.7 assists a game in 2023 while shooting 51.4 percent from the field for the Orlando Magic.

This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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