Philadelphia 76ers first-round selection Matisse Thybulle knows achieving perfection won't come as early as this year's Summer League, but that won't stop him from trying to reduce the amount of mistakes he makes on the floor, hoping to bring a positive influence ahead of Friday's first game against the Milwaukee Bucks:
“Try to minimize the mistakes and be in the right place as much as I can,” said Thybulle, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “We’ve only had like six practices. We are not going to be perfect when we get out there. So I don’t expect perfection, but I want to try and get as close as I can.”
The 22-year-old was one of the oldest yet most NBA-ready prospects the NBA Draft had to offer. Players often play too hard, too fast and turn the ball over too much in the first 10 minutes of action upon making their Summer League debut, as the jitters of suiting up in an NBA jersey for the first time often take them over.
Yet the Arizona native said he’s more excited than nervous about playing in a real game setting for the first time after having practiced for the last three months after his last collegiate season came to a close.
Thybulle won the Naismith and Pac-12 awards for Defensive Player of the Year, a master of basketball thievery by trade. He will have to make the adjustment from the zone defense he played in college to a more demanding man-to-man as a member of the Sixers.
Philadelphia is expecting him to be a physical on-ball defender and to get to the ball on pick-and-rolls:
“He’s got a lot of natural talent that comes out,” said Delaware Blue Coats coach Connor Johnson, who is now coaching the Sixers’ Summer League team in Las Vegas.
If proven ready for the big stage, it's likely Thybulle can see some time with the Sixers in his rookie season, giving them the jolt of defensive energy they've looked for during this offseason.
Follow Us
Subscribe