Sixers guard Matisse Thybulle ranked 3rd in latest DPOY rankings
The Philadelphia 76ers may not be the team they were in the 2020-21 season on their way to the No. 1 seed in the East. They have undergone a great deal of change and adversity, but some things have not changed.
One of those is the elite defensive play of Matisse Thybulle. The third-year guard out of Washington is once again using his combination of length and defensive acumen to bother the hell out of opponents. He is averaging 2.6 steals and 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes.
In a new Defensive Player of the Year ranking from nba.com, Thybulle comes in third behind Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green:
Ben Simmons annually was one of the top two or three defenders in the NBA (if you didn’t know that, just ask him). His absence has seen the Sixers fall out of top 10 status on that side of the ball, but Thybulle has stepped up as the team’s first on-ball option. The players he guards are shooting 8.6% worse in overall field-goal accuracy, second only to Minnesota’s Patrick Beverley (minus 9.6%). Thybulle also ranks in the top 10 individually in deflections and steals. He made his impact felt against the Warriors when he blocked two 3-point attempts from Stephen Curry.
Thybulle could still add to his offensive game, but there is no doubt he is one of the league’s elite defensive players. The Sixers even trusted him to start against Steph Curry and to slow some of the game’s top scorers.
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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