Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid has nothing but high praises for his teammate Matisse Thybulle after the Sixers wing locked down Stephen Curry during Saturday's game with the Golden State Warriors.

Curry had a hard time against the Sixers, finishing with just 18 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He went a horrendous 6-of-20 from the field–including 3-of-14 from deep. Thybulle was Curry's primary defender all game long, and he was more than a thorn on the side of the sharpshooter as he became the first player ever to block multiple 3-pointers from Curry in a single game.

Overall, the Sixers youngster held Curry to 2-of-13 shooting overall including 1-of-9 from beyond the arc.

https://twitter.com/sergenkumas/status/1469853503795437572

Naturally after the contest, Joel Embiid was hyped up for Matisse Thybulle. He even went as far as to saying that the Australian is “one of the best perimeter defenders in the league” who has a case for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

“I think he has the chance to be the Defensive Player of the Year. He showed that tonight. The way he guarded Steph, I haven't seen it in a long time,” Embiid said of his Sixers teammate.

Of course one game doesn't win someone the DPOY. However, there is no doubt that Thybulle is showing that he is one of the best defenders in the league. In the absence of Ben Simmons, he has stepped up to fill the hole he left on the defensive side of the ball and has been doing really great at it.

If he continues his phenomenal defensive play–stopping the best player of the opposing side–then Embiid might just be right: Thybulle can win DPOY.