No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz leaves Summer League with ankle injury

Markelle Fultz left the Philadelphia 76ers' opening Las Vegas Summer League game with an ankle injury.

LAS VEGAS – Philadelphia’s Markelle Fultz, the 2017 No. 1 pick, had to be carried to the locker room during his Las Vegas Summer League debut after sustaining a sprained left ankle during the third quarter of Philadelphia's 95-93 win over Golden State on Saturday night.

"Left ankle sprain. He's just going to get treated," said Sixers Summer League coach Lloyd Pierce. "We'll treat him accordingly. We'll be as cautious as we can.

Fultz was evaluated and underwent X-rays, which came back negative, the team announced. The injury was determined to be a lateral ankle sprain and he will miss the remainder of Summer League. It is expected that Fultz can return to normal basketball activities in one to two weeks.

The Sixers continue their Summer League schedule with games against the Spurs on Sunday and the Celtics on Tuesday.

"I haven't heard anything [about his availability for the rest of Summer League]," Pierce said.

The Sixers guard rolled his ankle outward while attempting to contest a driving lay-up by Golden State’s Jabari Brown. Fultz stepped on Brown’s left foot with his own left foot as he prepared to jump for a chasedown block.

Markelle Fultz stepped on the back of Brown's foot then rolled his ankle, 2 looks pic.twitter.com/kxG2VfGFX1

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 9, 2017

The University of Washington product, selected first by Philadelphia after a pre-draft pick exchange with Boston, remained on the court near the baseline for an extended period of time. As he was helped to the locker room by his Sixers teammates, Fultz put no weight on his left ankle.

The Sixers have been hit with a series of injury issues to top draft picks in recent years. Joel Embiid, the third pick in the 2014 draft, missed his first two seasons completely and played in just 31 games last season. Ben Simmons, the 2016 No. 1 pick, missed his entire rookie season with a foot injury.

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“Oh no no no,” Embiid wrote on Twitter. “Don't do this to us.”

Fultz departed with 8 points (on 3-12 shooting) and 2 rebounds in 15 minutes.