76ers guard Markelle Fultz contradicts trainer, calls himself generally healthy

Markelle Fultz’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, tweeted (then deleted) that the 76ers guard still isn’t healthy.

But the 76ers have not listed Fultz as injured this season. He has started all their games despite continued shooting woes.

Is Fultz fully healthy or close to it?

Fultz, via Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia:

“For sure,” Fultz said. “Nobody’s ever 100 percent healthy in this game. You play five games in seven days, you get bumps and bruises. That’s life in the NBA, that’s what you sign up for when you get here. But I’m working every day to get better.”

“Everything feels good,” Fultz said. “Like I said, I’m out here playing and competing every day. My shot can get better. It’s all about putting in work, like I did this summer, putting in work every day to get better. For me it’s not just my shot, it’s everything. … I want to work on defense, being a good teammate. It’s a process.”

Fultz is trying to thread the needle of not directly contradicting Hanlen while not defying the 76ers, who have not listed him as injured.

As we unfortunately know, Fultz isn’t that accurate.

Maybe Hanlen was just trying to protect Fultz, even if it meant fabricating or embellishing an injury. That wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, though it’s probably unhelpful considering the controversy it sparked.

Philadelphia playing Fultz through an injury would also be unhelpful. He just continues to look off.

Fultz and Hanlen have gone through this before. Hanlen said Fultz suffered from the yips, and Fultz stressed his problems were due to injury.

Whether physical, mental or both, Fultz’s problems linger. It’s tough to address them when not everyone can even agree on their type.