To act like Ankiel is equal to Fultz in the age of social media is ridiculous to me.
That's true, but only because Ankiel was clearly and obviously a vastly bigger deal on the national scene. Fultz is a draft pick who hardcore NBA fans know, he's not a national story.
People on SOSH wildly overestimate how much casual sports fans care or know about draft picks in sports they're not rabid about.
The NBA is ahead of other sports in terms of draft recognition for sure. And the idea that Ankiel as a draft pick was less well known than Fultz as a draft pick is obvious. Nobody disputes that.
But when Ankiel had his head issues, he was a pretty well known, borderline star pitcher playing regularly on national TV, including in the World Series. Even many casual sports fans who don't follow the sports that closely knew him. That's a lot more exposure than any draft pick outside a Lebron type ever had.
Fultz is still a (high) draft pick who's not known to anyone who doesn't follow the NBA prospects and draft fairly closely.
Kwame Brown was a #1 can't miss prospect hand selected by His Airness, Michael Jordan, himself. He was a
way bigger national deal than Fultz. He's probably the second biggest draft prospect (after Lebron) in terms of buzz since 2000. And most non-NBA fans couldn't tell him from my grandmother.
Most sports fans just don't follow draft picks the way SOSHers do, and we wildly overrate their impact. I guarantee you the majority of even my NBA fan friends have little or no idea who Fultz is.