CJ Fulton became the first Irish-born player to ever take part in the summer league with the Timberwolves in July. Ireland has not been a country that has been well-represented throughout the NBA’s history. Now, on a training camp deal, there is one skill that Fulton showed at the collegiate level that would help his chances of eventually making an NBA roster and becoming the second player born in Ireland to appear in a regular season game.
CJ Fulton does a great job of taking care of the basketball
Even though the Timberwolves still have two open roster spots, it is extremely unlikely that Fulton makes the Timberwolves' team on opening night. Likely, the 23-year-old will get some minutes during Minnesota’s six-game preseason schedule before beginning the 2025-26 season in the G League with the Iowa Wolves.
Prior to going undrafted in 2025, Fulton played four years collegiately. His first two were with Lafayette, and the most recent two, he played for the College of Charleston. Throughout those four years, and particularly in his senior year, the 6-foot-2 point guard displayed the ability to find his teammates without turning the ball over.
In 2024-25, Fulton totaled 209 assists while only turning the ball over 43 times. That is just six assists shy of an assist-to-turnover ratio of exactly five for the year. For his four-year college career, Fulton dished out 3.8 assists for every turnover. Remarkably, in every season, Fulton had more steals than turnovers as well.
That discernible skill should remind Timberwolves fans of an active point guard who began his NBA career with Minnesota. Tyus Jones spent his first four seasons with the Wolves from 2015-16 until 2018-19, where he had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.76. That has continued for Jones after leaving Minnesota, as he recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.35 in 2023-24 with the Wizards, the best mark in a single season in NBA history.
Pat Burke is the only Irish-born player to appear in a regular season game
While Fulton became the first player born in Ireland to play in a summer league game, there has only been one such player to suit up for an NBA regular season game. That would be Pat Burke, who totaled 127 appearances over three seasons with the Magic and Suns.
Again, it’s highly unlikely that Fulton will become the second to come opening night. A strong showing in the preseason will keep him on the Timberwolves’ radar, though (as well as the 29 other NBA teams). Fulton also proved during his college career to be a solid rebounder at his position as well as an adequate three-point shooter (37.1% career three-point accuracy).