A Former 76er's Advice Helped Matisse Thybulle Grow on Offense
Cracking the Philadelphia 76ers’ rotation wasn’t difficult for Matisse Thybulle during his early years with the organization. Although Thybulle had a lot of work to do as a player, the former first-round pick managed to earn minutes with the team due to his dominant defensive skill set.
Even though Thybulle’s defense continues to shine bright for the Sixers, the veteran wing has found himself struggling to gain minutes as his offense is still a work in progress.
Before the 2022-2023 NBA season, Thybulle averaged 21 minutes per game over three seasons. On offense, he accounted for fewer than five points per game while shooting 32 percent from beyond the arc. As the Sixers wanted to enter this season with players who have more two-way value, Thybulle understood he had to work extra hard on improving his offensive game.
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers credited Thybulle for being one of the Sixers’ hardest workers in the offseason. While Thybulle’s shot is still a topic of discussion, Thybulle has shown more confidence in his shot through the Sixers’ first ten games of the year, and former Sixers sharpshooter JJ Redick was issued credit from Thybulle for keeping him in the right mindset.
“It’s a product of the work, and it is its own world,” said Thybulle, discussing his shooting. “JJ Redick told me a long time ago that the only thing you can really do to get your confidence up is if you do the work, you know you’ve done it, and I think that plays a big role in it. Then also just believing in it for myself is just another aspect in it as well.”
In addition to Redick, Thybulle gains a lot of support from his teammates as well. The defensive standout mentioned that his teammates are in his ear “pretty often,” encouraging him to shoot more. He also singled out Sixers center Joel Embiid as somebody who’s constantly been on his back about it.
“Joel’s been saying it for the last three seasons,” Thybulle continued. “I guess he’s been really consistent with it. I mean, it’s across the board. I feel actually really lucky in that sense to have teammates that do believe in me and encourage me to take those next steps.”
Thybulle still has a lot to improve on when it comes to offense, but the Sixers feel good about the fact he’s more willing to let shots fly without hesitation through the first stretch of the year.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
