Before heading to Vegas, Minnesota Timberwolves Summer League coach Kevin Hanson spoke on who impressed him the most after the first day of practice.
“I was pretty impressed with the Irish CJ (Fulton),” he said. “I mean, he is a true point guard. So that kind of stands out in today’s game. There’s not a whole lot of true point guards.”
Six days later, Iowa Wolves guard and main roster hopeful Amari Bailey echoed Hanson’s praise when speaking of who stood out in camp.
“Who stood out the most to me was CJ,” Bailey said. “He’s a player. Being able to create for others, plays the right way, makes it easier for everyone. I think he might go under a lot of people’s radar, but I really like his game a lot.”
Needless to say, Fulton caught my attention after everyone praised him in Summer League camp. Several Irish journalists reached out, explaining how important Fulton was to the people of Ireland, further piquing my interest. As a man with quite a bit of Irish blood in my veins, I dug into the story.
Fulton is a 23-year-old, 6’2” point guard who has basketball in his blood. His grandfather, Danny Fulton, coached the Irish national team and was inducted into the Irish basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. CJ Fulton’s father is Adrian Fulton. He played professionally for Ireland and in FIBA, and is also likely a Hall of Famer. He’s now the top coach in Ireland.
Fulton decided to play college ball stateside, coming with a reputation as a coach’s son (or, technically, a coach’s, coach’s son). In his first two seasons at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, Fulton started 56 out of a possible 60 games.
In his sophomore season, he made the All-Patriot Conference first team after shooting 38.7% from three and averaging 10.5 points and 5.0 assists. Despite Fulton’s success, the team went 11-23, and he transferred to the College of Charleston for his junior and senior seasons.
Fulton saw the team’s success match his own in Charleston. In 2023-24, they finished 27-8 and won the CAA championship, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as a 13-seed before losing in the first round to No. 4 Alabama. Fulton started 25 games for Charleston, averaging 23.9 minutes, 4.1 points, and 4.1 assists. He led the team with a 4.1 to 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. That would also rank first in the nation among players with more than 10 starts.
In his senior season, Fulton averaged 7.8 points, 6.5 assists, and 37.8% three-point shooting. He posted a remarkable 5.0 to 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio, again notching the best mark in the NCAA of anyone who started over 10 games. It earned him a spot on the All-CAA conference first team. Charleston finished 24-9 and missed the NCAA tournament.
That’s where Fulton’s stateside basketball journey logically could have ended. He worked out for the Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets. Then, after the second night of the NBA draft, Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly mentioned Fulton.
“I’m trying to get an Irish kid right now for Summer League,” Connelly said. “He’s asleep as we speak.”
Fulton was shocked that Connelly mentioned him.
“I thought the workout went pretty well, but I didn’t think I’d be back here, to be honest,” he said. “I woke up the next morning and saw that video. I couldn’t believe Connelly had said that. My phone was blowing up. That was really cool.”
After the Wolves signed him to the Summer League roster, Fulton would put in the work. He bided his time until Minnesota’s fourth Summer League game, when he finally heard his number called.
By checking in, Fulton became the first-ever Irish-born player to participate in the Summer League and the first Irish player since Pat Burke in 2007 to wear an NBA jersey at any level. With Irish flags waving and his dad and family in the crowd, Fulton logged four minutes of play.
Fulton spoke about the achievement after the game.
“It was definitely a cool moment for me checking into the game,” he said. “Obviously, proud to get here, proud of the achievement. Wish I could have contributed a little bit more, but it was definitely a cool moment, cool experience.”
Kevin Hanson would also speak on the moment.
“Yeah, he was awesome in camp,” said Hanson. “I feel bad because basically he didn’t play the first three games, and it’s pretty hard to have any rhythm or feel for the team at that point. We’ve had one practice since we’ve been here, so I felt bad throwing him in there in that kind of circumstance, but it was good to put him in.
“He earned it, he was awesome in camp.”
The next day, the Wolves discovered that despite going 4-0 in Summer League, their point differential wasn’t high enough to beat out the other 4-0 teams. Therefore, they missed the championship tournament on Sunday. It’s a bittersweet moment for the Wolves because they won’t have the chance to raise the trophy.
However, it opens doors for players like Fulton, who will likely see a significant increase in minutes, because the Wolves are no longer playing for a championship. Kevin Hanson explained the future of players like Fulton to me on Friday after the Wolves’ final Summer League practice.
“I’m sure at least G league… There’s a lot of good players here that are just scratching the surface. If they don’t do it now, they will later.”
Fulton has already made history this summer as a prodigy from Belfast to the NBA Summer League. With one game remaining on the schedule Saturday, he should have a chance to show what he’s capable of on the court. That could earn him a G-League spot or even a main roster spot if his camp success translates to the court.
The Wolves still have two roster spots open and a two-way contract that Tristen Newton hasn’t signed. The Wolves have a signing starting point guard in Mike Conley and a turnover-prone second-year player in Rob Dillingham. Perhaps Fulton is just the bridge between the two that the Wolves have been seeking.
