During All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, blossoming Sixers star Ben Simmons discussed the status of his teammate Markelle Fultz, who has appeared in just four games this season due to an apparent shoulder injury, with Yahoo Sports‘ Chris Mannix.

Simmons called Fultz “an amazing young player” and admitted he hates guarding him in practice because of his impressive ability to attack the basket.

It’s tough. The position he’s in. He’s so young coming into the NBA and then obviously having this injury. But he’s in a good position where he’s staying focused and working hard. I see him everyday in there trying to get back to where he was and he’s going to do that. It could be physical. It could be mental. I’m not too sure about the details, but I know he’s working hard every day. You see him trying to push back, but on the floor, even in practice, you can see he’s an amazing young player. I hate guarding him. He’s so good getting to the rim.

Fultz, the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, has transformed his jump shot drastically since entering the NBA, but opinions as to why diverge based on who you ask.

RELATED

Joel Embiid on Markelle Fultz: “I don’t feel like a lot of people … have had his back”

33,910