Plenty of the members of this current Philadelphia 76ers team have experience playing together. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris enter their third season as a trio. James Harden played with both PJ Tucker and Montrezl Harrell in Houston. Doc Rivers coached Harrell when the two were part of the Los Angeles Clippers organization.
So despite all of the new faces, many of these relationships go back. That list isn’t limited to the professional basketball circuit either. In college, Matisse Thybulle and De’Anthony Melton regularly battled one another in Pac-12 showdowns.
While both players were known for their defensive acumen, it was Thybulle who bested Melton as the Pac-12’s steals leader in 2016. And the two players — Thybulle the former Washington Huskie and Melton the former USC Trojan — still jaw about the college showdown to this day.
“I think that’s still a sensitive subject. I’ve had several conversations with him about that and I’m going to keep bringing it up until they figure it out or change something,” Melton explained at Sixers media day on September 26.
But Thybulle isn’t one to let that go by without defending himself. The two-time All-Defensive wing “stand[s] by the fact that [he] deserved it.”
There’s no question the Sixers are counting on both Melton and Thybulle’s defense next season. It’s something that Melton opened up about during his media day presser last week.
Melton: ‘Definitely Going to Be Havoc’
With Melton’s arrival, it was only natural to speculate as to what Thybulle’s role with Philadelphia would be moving forward. Thybulle’s defense is other-worldly: his block and steals rates ranked in the 100th percentile of wings last season.
But for all of Thybulle’s defensive brilliance, his offensive game ranges between laughable and non-existent. Melton, while not an offensive ace by any metric, does offer slightly more upside on that end of the floor, with a similar set of defensive skills. By trading for Melton, were the Sixers sending a warning shot to Thybulle?
Perhaps, but it’s not something Melton is worried about right now. If anything, he’s excited about sharing the floor with Thybulle.
“And we can definitely just raise havoc out there and give offenses trouble, not only just stopping them … but tiring them down so when the fourth quarter comes around, they’re a little bit more gassed because me and Matisse are out there running around, getting steals, staying out of foul trouble, hopefully. I think us two out there is definitely going to be havoc,” Melton said.
Thybulle’s offense might still be a work in progress, but he’s been given a major vote of confidence from the team’s best player.
Joel Embiid Sounds Off on Thybulle’s Offensive Improvement
One of the biggest question marks entering this season revolved around any improvements to Thybulle’s offensive game. While he remains to be game-tested, Thybulle’s offense is raising the eyebrows of superstar Joel Embiid.
“I’m so proud of him. So far, you can tell he’s put in the work all summer. He’s been amazing. Obviously, he needs to keep going when it matters, but he’s made a lot of improvement and that’s what we want. That’s what we want from everybody on this team and he’s been doing an amazing job,” according to Ky Carlin of SixersWire.
With any luck, Thybulle will continue improving throughout the preseason and fully develop into the three-and-D wing Philadelphia hoped he would become.
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New Sixer Takes Shot at Matisse Thybulle: ‘Still a Sensitive Subject’