Growing up as a basketball-mad kid in Belfast, CJ Fulton never could have imagined the position he would now be in.
The 22-year-old had already been a trailblazer in college basketball with Lafayette and the Charleston Cougars, but now he has moved a step closer to the biggest goal of them all – the NBA.
In his senior year last season, the guard averaged 7.8 points and 6.5 assists per game for the Cougars.
After missing out in the initial NBA draft, Fulton will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s Summer League.
“I never thought I’d be in this position, it was about what contracts or leagues I could get in Europe,” Fulton said of his post-college career prospects.
“The opportunity came up to work a few NBA workouts and I obviously couldn’t turn those down.
“It’s a crazy position to be in but I’m just embracing the opportunity.”
The NBA Summer League is a pre-season tournament that allows teams to assess their drafted players, squad players who lacked minutes in the regular season or, in Fulton’s case, undrafted players.
Fulton was on holiday in Los Angeles with some friends when his agent sent a text to say the Timberwolves wanted him to join them for a workout.
Two days later he was in Minnesota, and another workout followed with the Denver Nuggets.
But it was once he was back home in Belfast, seeing family and friends, that his agent called with the news he was hoping for.
Although Fulton missed out on selection in the draft, Minnesota liked what they saw and he was going to be part of their Summer League roster.
“I had a workout there and it must have been alright,” said a modest Fulton, whose father Adrian represented Ireland.
“I was buzzing. I kind of had an idea I would be getting an update from my agent after the draft as the Timberwolves had been in touch, but I was over the moon and I’m really excited.”
‘The NBA would be unreal’
The Summer League, which takes place over the space of 11 days in Las Vegas in July, is an opportunity for Fulton to impress in front of the biggest names in the sport.
Fulton is aiming to become the third Irish-born player to earn the chance to compete at the highest level in the United States after Pat Burke and Susan Moran.
“It gives teams a chance to evaluate their group and make a decision on their roster going into the year,” added the Ireland international.
“It’s crazy to think about and I never thought I’d be in this position.
“We’ve a training camp in Minnesota for a few days and then we head out to Vegas as a team. I’ll try and learn as much as I can and embrace the opportunity.
“Hopefully I can give a good account of myself, but it will be really cool to see all the talent. There will be 30 teams there and celebrities – the whole deal, so I’m really excited.”
Fulton says “you never know what can happen” but feels he has options outside the NBA if the Timberwolves look elsewhere.
He says the G-League, the NBA’s team-affiliated development league, could be on the cards or he could return to Europe to forge a professional career – as was his initial plan before his NBA dreams sparked into life.
“The NBA would be unreal but we’ll see what happens.
“I never really thought it was in the picture for me. My goal coming out of college was to try and get to the highest levels of Europe.
“I didn’t think I would get this opportunity but now that I’m here I’ll try and make the most of it.
“It would be pretty big.”
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1 hour ago
Growing up as a basketball-mad kid in Belfast, CJ Fulton never could have imagined the position he would now be in.
The 22-year-old had already been a trailblazer in college basketball with Lafayette and the Charleston Cougars, but now he has moved a step closer to the biggest goal of them all – the NBA.
In his senior year last season, the guard averaged 7.8 points and 6.5 assists per game for the Cougars.
After missing out in the initial NBA draft, Fulton will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA’s Summer League.
“I never thought I’d be in this position, it was about what contracts or leagues I could get in Europe,” Fulton said of his post-college career prospects.
“The opportunity came up to work a few NBA workouts and I obviously couldn’t turn those down.
“It’s a crazy position to be in but I’m just embracing the opportunity.”
The NBA Summer League is a pre-season tournament that allows teams to assess their drafted players, squad players who lacked minutes in the regular season or, in Fulton’s case, undrafted players.
Fulton was on holiday in Los Angeles with some friends when his agent sent a text to say the Timberwolves wanted him to join them for a workout.
Two days later he was in Minnesota, and another workout followed with the Denver Nuggets.
But it was once he was back home in Belfast, seeing family and friends, that his agent called with the news he was hoping for.
Although Fulton missed out on selection in the draft, Minnesota liked what they saw and he was going to be part of their Summer League roster.
“I had a workout there and it must have been alright,” said a modest Fulton, whose father Adrian represented Ireland.
“I was buzzing. I kind of had an idea I would be getting an update from my agent after the draft as the Timberwolves had been in touch, but I was over the moon and I’m really excited.”
‘The NBA would be unreal’
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Summer League, which takes place over the space of 11 days in Las Vegas in July, is an opportunity for Fulton to impress in front of the biggest names in the sport.
Fulton is aiming to become the third Irish-born player to earn the chance to compete at the highest level in the United States after Pat Burke and Susan Moran.
“It gives teams a chance to evaluate their group and make a decision on their roster going into the year,” added the Ireland international.
“It’s crazy to think about and I never thought I’d be in this position.
“We’ve a training camp in Minnesota for a few days and then we head out to Vegas as a team. I’ll try and learn as much as I can and embrace the opportunity.
“Hopefully I can give a good account of myself, but it will be really cool to see all the talent. There will be 30 teams there and celebrities – the whole deal, so I’m really excited.”
Fulton says “you never know what can happen” but feels he has options outside the NBA if the Timberwolves look elsewhere.
He says the G-League, the NBA’s team-affiliated development league, could be on the cards or he could return to Europe to forge a professional career – as was his initial plan before his NBA dreams sparked into life.
“The NBA would be unreal but we’ll see what happens.
“I never really thought it was in the picture for me. My goal coming out of college was to try and get to the highest levels of Europe.
“I didn’t think I would get this opportunity but now that I’m here I’ll try and make the most of it.
“It would be pretty big.”
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