I think Fultz is a great prospect, but I've seen him labeled by members as "the best prospect since Lebron" and a future top-5 player.
What separates him from a guy like Kyrie and launches him into Harden / Westbrook / Durant territory?
Hard work and three inches?
Kyrie just put up 25ppg a game to go along with 5 assists. That's not anything to scoff at. So we're starting at a high level. But what's the difference between those kinds of guys? It's the work they put in.
Beyond that, the biggest knock on Irving was his lack of durability and the limited amount of games he played before he turned pro. The durability thing has turned out to be somewhat true, playing in fewer than 60 games in half of his 6 seasons. Kyrie also is a massive defensive liability and doesn't see the court particularly well. His college stats bear that out - averaging fewer than 5 assists - and was an exceptionally poor rebounder (3.4). I also think that with his limited exposure scouts didn't get to really analyze his BBIQ whereas they're high on both Fultz and Ball in that regard.
Fultz is a bit more athletic and significantly longer. He shouldn't have as much of a problem getting his shot off. But ultimately - like every other gifted player - he's going to be a 2nd tier All-Star unless he puts in the work. There's no NBA combine test for heart. Westbrook put in the work every year for the past 8. He's doubled his rebounding rate. He's greatly improved his assist rate. He actually has a 3 point shot now. He worked his butt off. Harden did something similar. He improved his rebounding and assist rate every year while actually not becoming a total liability on the defensive end. While this years' stats actually look like abnormalities rather than natural growth, the work was put in and you could see the improvement in his game every year. I don't get the same feeling from Kyrie - he just seems too content to let King James do the heavy lifting and coasts on defense. But then again the same thing was said about Harden and look at him now.
Personally, I'm just [dang]ed happy to have a top 4 pick. That's just a beautiful thing.