76ers rookie who’s out with a mysterious shoulder injury was seen shooting with his opposite hand at practice

Mitchell Leff/Getty

• Philadelphia 76ers rookie Markelle Fultz is out for three weeks to heal an injury to his right shoulder.
• The injury had drastically affected his shot, forcing him to change his shooting motion.
• On Monday, Fultz was seen practicing shooting with his left hand, raising questions about his rehab.

Another new twist was added on Monday to the strange saga of Philadelphia 76ers No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz and his shoulder injury.

In late October, the 76ers shut Fultz down for three weeks to let an unspecified injury to his right shoulder heal. This came after Fultz drastically changed his shooting motion and was unable to hit shots more than a few feet away from the basket. 76ers head coach Brett Brown admitted the shoulder injury may have been hurting Fultz more than he was letting on, and Fultz’s agent said Fultz could not lift his arms up because of the injury.

On Monday, 76ers reporters said Fultz was shooting at team practice — with his left hand. Fultz is a righty.

Kyle Neuebeck of The Philly Voice said it was an unusual sight:

Neubeck also posted video of one of Fultz’s shots, and it didn’t look good.

Neubeck later reported that the team said Fultz isn’t yet shooting right-handed jumpers and there are no plans to change his shooting hands. Brown said there was nothing to read into Fultz’s left-handed shots.

While there’s nothing wrong with ambidexterity, it only adds more confusion to Fultz’s injury. Surely the team wants Fultz to stay in shape while he sits, but if his shoulder is in such bad shape, why not let it heal rather than have him shoot three-pointers with his opposite hand?

The Sixers also have a questionable history with injuries to top draft picks. Joel Embiid missed the first two seasons of his career with foot injuries. His season was cut short last year when he tore his meniscus, which was initially ruled a “sore” knee. Likewise, 2016 No. 1 pick Ben Simmons missed all of his rookie year with a broken foot.