Philadelphia 76ers: Matisse Thybulle earns All-Defense honors after all

Do postseason awards matter in the NBA?

Honestly, no… unless one of your favorite team’s players is winning them.

Despite winning MVP in a contentious race, Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets were swept in four by the Phoenix Suns and now prepare for an offseason predicated on retooling their roster and re-upping their current corps.

This trend isn’t new; of the last 10 players to win MVP, only three are still standing in the playoffs now, with Giannis Antetokounmpo currently engulfed in a slobberknocker versus James Harden, Kevin Durant, and the Brooklyn Nets.

Despite having finalists for all 3 of the major awards: MVP, DPOTY, and COTY, the NBA’s awards season hasn’t been too kind to the Philadelphia 76ers in 2021, as they’ve been left at the altar on all 3 occasions to questionably better men.

But hey, it’s cool; Not only do the Sixers still have a chance to continue their postseason berth and make it back to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001, but they’ll be doing so with not one, not two, but three members of the All-Defensive Team thanks to the surprise selection of Matisse Thybulle alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

For a player averaging less than 24 minutes per game, this is, to paraphrase Embiid’s friend, “too sweet.”

Three All-Defensive members are better than one for the Philadelphia 76ers.

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It’s almost impossible to describe just how good Matisse Thybulle is on the defensive end of the court to someone who has never watched him play.

He’s a disruptor, a pest, and one of the more creative defenders you’ll find in NBA history regardless of the era. When Thybulle is on the court, opposing ball handlers have to be on constant alert that at any minute, they could be the victim of another momentum-shifting steal-and-slam or have their shot deflected from behind with no defender in sight.

Zach Lowe once said it best (subscription required), “Matisse Thybulle doesn’t move. He apparates.”

Despite only playing 20 minutes per game over 65 contests in 2020-21, the 172nd-highest mark in the NBA, Thybulle finished out the regular season ranked fifth overall in total steals, first overall in steals per 36 minutes, and was the only non-big to record at least 70 blocks.

It would be easy to look at that stat line as “video game numbers,” only, Thybulle’s game is so good it doesn’t even translate to 2K; he is truly one of the most unique players in the NBA, and that often gets overlooked when said uniqueness isn’t predicated on scoring.

While Thybulle is unquestionably in the conversation for one of the top-10 defenders in the NBA regardless of positions – he arguably should be considered in the top-5, but I digress – many outwardly questioned whether the NBA would be bold enough to actually give him the All-Defense nod over more established players who average more time on the court, and points on the board.

Fortunately, courage won out the day in the best possible way.

For Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, landing on an All-Defense team is borderline expected. Embiid was named to the second team both in 2018 and 2019, and Simmons made his first appearance on the first team in 2020. But for Thybulle, a player who had fewer starts in his second season than Embiid had in the month of April, this is huge. Of the 10 players announced to the two All-Defensive teams, every player not named Thybulle started every game they appeared in save Jrue Holiday – who came off the bench in three games – and averaged 12.278 more minutes per game. If Thybulle can still stand out in roughly 614.44 fewer minutes over the course of a 72 game regular season, you know he must be good.

Next. Matisse Thybulle has to step into Danny Green’s shoes. dark

Landing multiple players on the All-Defensive team isn’t a new feat for Doc Rivers. He’s had seven separate players earn the honor at least once over his 22 year NBA coaching career and has had quite a few other players like Tony Allen, who should have received the honor too. But Matisse Thybulle is just different. He’s not a star, not even the team’s primary sixth man, but against all of the odds, the Philadelphia 76ers’ reserve winger beat out the odds and became the player Elton Brand envisioned when he traded up to acquire his draft rights from Boston. Too sweet indeed.