Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz cherishes giving back to his hometown with his first-ever basketball camp

Benyam Kidane

•
Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz cherishes giving back to his hometown with his first-ever basketball camp image

Markelle Fultz's young NBA career has gotten off to an interrupted start as injuries have limited him to just 33 games in two seasons.

At just 21-years-old, Fultz is still scratching the surface of his NBA potential and despite the pressure of living up to the hype of a no.1 draft pick, he stays grounded in the path that led him to the league, hoping to inspire the next generation of kids looking up to him. 

During the off-season, Fultz hosted his first-ever basketball camp at his alma mater DeMatha Catholic High School, sharing his love for the game, with a group of campers from the neighbourhood. 

"The game of basketball to me is a beautiful thing. To me it's happiness, it's a connection to a lot of people," Fultz told CloseUp360. 

"I can't really describe it in one word or anything like that, but it's just like a love to me, almost like the love of my life, because basketball is one of the most beautiful things I've seen since I was young. I think I always fell in love with dribbling and shooting and it just brings joy."

Watch the full feature here, via: CloseUp360.

 
Fultz rose to prominence at DeMatha, after being cut from the varsity team as a sophomore, going on to lead his team to back-to-back conference championships. He would go on to earn a place in the McDonald's All-American Game, before starring for the University of Washington Huskies in the NCAA.
 
After overcoming many obstacles, Fultz now wants to be the person that kids in his neighbourhood can look to for inspiration and show them the way.
 
"It's really dope for me, coming up and going to DeMatha camp, seeing some of the pros come here as guest speakers," Fultz added.
 
"It's always been on my mind when I was coming up through high school and college is giving back and then being able to give back to where I grew up at and more specifically at my high school and have the camp for kids that look up to me as a role model, it's so dope to me and it's really genuine 

"The biggest takeaway I want for them to have is live with no fear, set a goal for themselves and don't let anybody change that goal or tell them that they can't do it." 

For more in-depth player profiles, follow CloseUp360 on Twitter.

Benyam Kidane

Benyam Kidane Photo

Benyam Kidane is a senior NBA editor and has been covering the league for The Sporting News since 2016. In his spare time you can find him watching Allen Iverson highlights on repeat.