Philadelphia 76ers: Matisse Thybulle’s recent success? Must be the shoes
Matisse Thybulle is off to his best month as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, but why? Could it be his new Nike blue ‘Team Bank’ PG 2.5s?
There’s been something… different about Matisse Thybulle over the last few Philadelphia 76ers games.
Always a defensive stopper, the 6-foot-5 rookie out of Washington has been lights out offensively, hitting 12 3 pointers this far in the month of December versus 13 in October and November combined.
Oh yeah, and he’s started dunking – the surest sign of a player overflowing with confidence.
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But what has changed over the last few weeks? He didn’t swap out his hairstyle a la Josh Richardson. His role with the team has remained more or less the same. Even his minutes are only slightly elevated when compared to his pre-December numbers.
Must be the shoes.
That’s right, after rocking a pair of red Nike PG 2.5s throughout most of the first quarter of the season, Thybulle changed things up with a new blue colorway of the uber-popular shoe and just like that he’s playing like a grizzled vet. Officially dubbed the ‘Team Bank‘ colorway by Nike, this specific model of Paul George‘s signature shoe is bathed in blue with a white strap, white backwards Swoosh logo, and speckling on the midsole.
And for whatever crazy, sports superstition reason, this pair of shoes has got some major mojo for the 20th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Now granted, maybe, just maybe things have taken a turn for Thybulle because of increased experience and the comfort that brings in his role, but that seems rather cut and dry, no? I mean surely his sneakers must have played some part in scoring in double digits in two straight games – including a career-high 20 points against the Toronto Raptors – right?
Well, if the shoes aren’t the reason for Thybulle’s success, he shouldn’t change things up to find out.
While the ‘University Red’ colorway of the PG 2.5s looks exponentially cooler both on TV and in person – in this writer’s humble opinion at least – sometimes you have to sacrifice looks for performance.
Need proof? Look no further than Furkan Korkmaz and his breakout junior season. Maybe Furky is killing it as the team’s top bench shooter in pursuit of a new contract, but his ever-present yellow Kobes have not gone unnoticed.
Next. Wells Fargo Center is the team’s safe haven. dark
Maybe it’s a bit cheeky to solely put a player’s success on the shoes they wear, but as a superstitious sports fan, what’s the fun in that? With a spot on the All-Rookie team very much in play for Matisse Thybulle, maybe Nike should consider giving the Philadelphia 76ers rookie an endorsement – maybe even make a PE available so Brett Brown can suit up his entire squad (minus Under Armour endorsee Joel Embiid) with some lucky kicks.