Cowboys’ Cooper mocks Markelle Fultz’s free-throw form with celebration

Watch as Amari Cooper does his best impression of a Markelle Fultz’s free throw attempt after scoring a TD.

Ah, American Thanksgiving. A time for us north of the border to jealously watch as our southern neighbours enjoy giant parades, strange sweet potato and marshmallow dishes, prepare for a Friday filled with rampant consumerist fun and watch a ton of NFL football.

All kidding aside, Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time reserved for friends, family, good food, good vibes and, yes, a lot of football.

What it usually doesn’t entail — insane dinner table rants from that uncle aside — is blatant mockery in said football, however.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Markelle Fultz, the 2017 No. 1 overall pick, has had a rough start to his NBA career, marred with shoulder problems, a wrist problem and a shot that’s looked broken because of these issues and a bad case of the yips.

Fultz has made plenty of wacky adjustments to his shot to try to get over whatever has been ailing him and return to being the player who made himself a former first-overall pick while playing one season at the University of Washington.

Among his latest adjustments, Fultz changed his free-throw routine to one that sees him juggling the ball with either hand before releasing it awkwardly.

On Thursday, after scoring a 40-yard touchdown, Dallas Cowboys receiver Amari Cooper decided to have a little fun at Fultz’s expense, impersonating the 76ers guard’s bizarre free-throw routine as his touchdown celebration.

Needless to say, more than a few noticed the obvious jab Cooper was sending Fultz’s way.

To his credit, it looks like Fultz took the little shot directed his way from Cooper in stride.

Fultz shoots a career 41.4 per cent from the field and 53.4 per cent from the free-throw line. He has appeared in 19 games for the 76ers this season but will be out for at least a week. As The Athletic reported Wednesday, Fultz may want a change of scenery away from the scrutiny he’s received in Philadelphia as he continues to try to recover.

No guarantee a new team would save Fultz from Cooper’s, or any other football player’s, mocking touchdown antics, however.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.