Matisse Thybulle is only averaging 3.4 points through three games in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs against the Washington Wizards, but the Philadelphia 76ers are not asking him to put up points. Instead, the Sixers are valuing him so much for the goods he delivers on the other end of the floor.
Thybulle's defense has been a game-changer of sorts for the Sixers. He's like sauce on spaghetti whenever he's on the court, with spaghetti, of course, being the opposing team's players. Just take a look at him during this set against the Wizards.
Led by Matisse Thybulle and Ben Simmons, these @sixers are ACTIVE on defense! 🤯#NBAPlayoffs on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/n5lgKyEaIj
— NBA (@NBA) May 27, 2021
That kind of defensive awareness and anticipation are what make Thybulle a vital cog of this Sixers team — and they come with him partly as a result of a childhood passion: swimming.
Via Mike Sielski of The Philadelphia Inquirer:
“The Thybulle family lived in Sydney, Australia, for seven years, and Matisse spent much of his childhood adhering to the culture of the country, rising at 5 a.m. for his daily swimming lesson. Those laps in the pool, his father agreed, allowed Matisse to develop an internal clock in his head — stroke … stroke … I’m coming up to the turn … now — that he uses to this day, noticing whenever an opposing team has five seconds or less remaining on the shot clock, reacting and freelancing accordingly.”
Indeed, the Wizards are getting drowned defensively by Thybulle in this series. In fact, Washington is shooting almost 30 percent worse from the field overall when he's on the floor. Among Sixers players averaging at least 15 minutes per game in the first round, Thybulle has the best defensive rating of 94.7.
Thybulle is a problem and will continue to be so for years to come.
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