Markelle Fultz Wants To Be No. 1 Pick, Feels He Would 'Fit Well' In Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- While Lonzo Ball will not work out with the Boston Celtics ahead of next month's NBA Draft, Markelle Fultz is trying to iron out a date to meet with the team who owns the first overall pick.
And Fultz is making it clear he would very much like to hear his name called before anyone else's come June 22.
"I've talked to Danny a few times, and they want to get me to come out there for a visit," Fultz told ESPN's Jeff Goodman on Tuesday. "They just want to get a chance to know me better as a person.
"I want to be the No. 1 pick really bad," Fultz told Goodman. "It's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, and I feel like I would fit well in Boston."
The point guard met with Celtics officials in early May at the draft combine, but no pre-draft workout date has been set just yet. The 19-year-old admitted that he has never been to Boston, but he is well aware of the rampant Celtics fan base that he could be playing in front of in the near future.
"I don't know a ton about the city," Fultz said. "I know the tradition the franchise has, and that the fans are crazy."
Fultz, who stands at 6-foot-4 with a 7-foot wingspan, averaged 23.2 points, 5.9 assists and 5.7 rebounds in his one season for the Washington Huskies. He's said in the past that he could play in the same back court as Boston's Isaiah Thomas (which he doubled down on after Boston won the NBA Draft Lottery), and continued to dream about that possibility with ESPN on Tuesday.
"We can both play on or off the ball," Fultz said. "We can both score and also pass. I think we'd be great together. When we've talked since the lottery, we haven't really talked about basketball much. He's been through a lot lately."
Fultz is the consensus favorite to go first overall, with UCLA guard Lonzo Ball the likely second-overall pick. Celtics president of basketball ops Danny Ainge told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich last week that Ball "politely declined" a recent invitation to work out for Boston.