Matisse Thybulle could turn into defensive steal for Philadelphia 76ers
By Dan Parzych
After trading up a few spots in the first round, the Philadelphia 76ers landed another former Washington standout in Matisse Thybulle.
Based off their history from the last couple of years, no one was really all that surprised to see the Philadelphia 76ers eventually trade up a few spots in the 2019 NBA Draft to land Matisse Thybulle out of Washington at No. 20.
In order to move up for the selection, the Sixers sent the No. 24 and No. 33 pick to the Boston Celtics, which coincidentally similar to a few years ago when Philadelphia selected another former star from the Huskies in Markelle Fultz.
For obvious reasons, the Sixers hope things with the 6’5″ Thybulle work out much better than they did with Fultz since the former No. 1 pick turned out to be a complete bust in Philadelphia, but there’s no reason to be even thinking about that possibility at the moment.
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Instead, Philadelphia should be thrilled over what Thybulle is capable of bringing to the table as a rookie during the 2019-20 season, especially on the defensive end of things.
From an offensive perspective, Thybulle has a few areas he will need to work out now that he’s officially part of the NBA, but at least the forward should make up for it on defense.
When taking into consideration that Philadelphia had shown a ton of interest in Thybulle over the last couple of weeks, it’s safe to say the team feels great over landing the player they were eyeing in the first round all along.
Despite their impressive run to the semifinals of the playoffs this past season before falling to the Toronto Raptors, it was clear in the postseason that Philadelphia didn’t exactly receive the best support from some of their bench players.
Like most rookies, Thybulle will most likely need some time to adjust to playing at the professional level, but if the Sixers can find a way to help the rookie develop quicker than expected, this selection at No. 20 could turn out to be a defensive steal.
No one needs to explain how frustrating it was at times in the playoffs to watch Philadelphia struggle the way they did on defense, and even though it sounds crazy to jump too far ahead down the road, Thybulle could be a solid contributor in the overall big picture.