Sixers’ Matisse Thybulle should be on the NBA’s all-defensive team

The only thing holding Matisse Thybulle back is minutes played.

Thybulle’s 76ers teammate Ben Simmons and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert are frontrunners to be the NBA’s defensive player of the year. Thybulle should receive consideration.

One could argue the second-year guard would be a frontrunner if he started and/or played more minutes.

Last week, his coach, Doc Rivers, gave him the highest praise.

“His length, No. 1, and his ability to close reminds me a lot of Deion Sanders,” said Rivers, comparing him to the Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback. “Deion always gave guys cushions, and quarterbacks never threw it because they knew if they did, somehow he would get there.

“I feel that way on jump shooters. They think they have the shot.”

Rivers words came one day after Phoenix Suns all-star Devin Booker thought he was open on three jumpers only to have Thybulle close out and disrupt his shot.

“Matisse has the ability to do that,” Rivers said of the 6-foot-5 guard with a 7-foot wingspan. “He also gets his hands on a lot of balls off the ball.

“I think he gambles a little too much defensively, but you have to allow him a little bit of that just because he’s so great at what he does.”

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Thybulle has shut down a who’s who of standout offensive players this season.

Danilo Gallinari was his latest victim despite being five inches taller at 6-10. Thybulle was assigned to guard the Atlanta Hawks standout reserve forward Wednesday night in the Sixers’ 127-83 victory at the Wells Fargo Center.

Gallinari was held to four points on 1-for-9 shooting. Thybulle finished the game with three blocks.

“He’s tall, long, has great anticipation skills, never gives up on a play, plays hard,” Sacramento Kings standout De’Aaron Fox said on March 20 after being shut down by Thybulle for the second time this season. “Those things help you be a great defender. It’s something he wants to do, knows he can do, and he knows he’s one of the best at it.”

With Simmons and Seth Curry both sidelined, Thybulle started in the Sixers’ 129-105 victory over the Kings on March 20.

Fox went into that contest on a roll, averaging 29.0 points and 7.9 assists over the previous seven games. But, with Thybulle guarding him, Fox was held scoreless for more than seven minutes before getting his first basket with 4 minutes, 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter and Thybulle subbed out of the game.

Fox ended the night with 16 points on 5-for-14 shooting, including missing all four of his three-pointers.

On Feb. 9, Fox finished with 34 points in a 119-111 setback to the Sixers in Sacramento. Simmons was the primary defender for three quarters. However, Thybulle drew the assignment in the fourth.

The Kings point guard went on to struggle from the field, scoring seven points on 3-for-13 shooting in the final quarter.

“He’s always showing us new things defensively that he brings to the table,” Sixers star Tobias Harris said “That’s only helping our team get better and better.”

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Thybulle is ninth in the league in steals with an average of 1.59 per game despite averaging just 20.0 minutes per game. To put things in perspective, former Sixer and Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler leads the league with 2.10 steals while playing 34 minutes per game.

In addition to being ranked ninth in steals, Thybulle is seventh in deflections (3.1 per game) and 24th in blocks (1.1). Simmons is also one of the league’s defensive leaders, ranking third in deflections (3.7) and sixth in steals (1.7) while averaging 32.7 minutes.

Thybulle and former Sixer and Portland Trail Blazer forward Robert Covington are the league’s only players averaging at least 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks. However, Covington is averaging 12.2 more minutes per game at 32.2.

“I think he should be part of one of those all-NBA defensive teams,” Sixers center Joel Embiid said of Thybulle. “He has a chance to be the conversation for defensive player of the year.

“If he was getting more minutes than he does, I think he’d be right there. He’s already shown it, but he has a lot of potential to become one of the best, if not the best, in the league.”