On Thursday night, five Philadelphia 76ers players made their team debut, including the Sixers’ latest first-round draft pick Matisse Thybulle. Thybulle, unlike Philadelphia’s previous two first-round draft picks, played four years of college basketball, and he was drafted to be an immediate contributor on a 76ers team with championship aspirations.
Thybulle was a highly-touted defender coming out of college, winning the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year in 2019 at Washington, where he put up 3.5 steals per game (led NCAA Division I) and averaged 2.3 blocks.
The Sixers traded for him on draft night, looking to add even more perimeter defense to an already stacked team with elite defenders in Joel Embiid, Al Horford, and Josh Richardson.