76ers' Matisse Thybulle Thought NBA Bubble was 'Crazy' at First

On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Philadelphia 76ers rookie Matisse Thybulle discussed his opinion on the NBA's bubble in Orlando.

Like many NBA players, Philadelphia 76ers rookie Matisse Thybulle thought the NBA's bubble idea was a bit crazy at first. The 2019-2020 NBA season went from being potentially canceled back in March, to coming back with circumstances we've never seen before in pro sports.

Early on last month, Thybulle and his Sixers teammates took a flight down to Orlando, Florida, where they will be staying for the next couple of months or so. For the first few weeks, players quarantined, practiced, and scrimmaged down in the bubble before the season officially restarted just last week.

So far, everything has gone according to plan for the NBA. Before the bubble idea was starting to get executed, though, Thybulle had his doubts. "I mean, it sounded crazy -- it is crazy!" Thybulle said on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon this week in regards to the NBA's bubble down in Orlando. 

"Just the fact that we're even here," he continued. "When I first heard about it [I thought] well, there's no way they can do that, right?" As it turns out, Thybulle was wrong. He might've had his doubts at first, but after seeing the NBA's well-thought-out plan put together, the Sixers rookie would quickly become sold on the bubble.

"For me, it was a couple of things," Thybulle explained. "We started doing workouts in Philly at our team practice facility, and that was a scaled-down version of what we're doing here. I felt pretty good about that. Then they sent out like this manual or something of what they are going to be doing, and it's like over one hundred pages of the health protocols and everything. I didn't read it, but if they are going to put that much into the protocols to send to players, then I was like OK." 

Thybulle never mentioned the thought of potentially opting out of the restart crossing his mind. Instead, the rookie guard was debating whether he should take his camera to Orlando with him to document everything or not. After deciding to step out of his comfort zone and start filming and editing his experience for all to see, Thybulle quickly became a fan favorite for not just Sixers fans -- but for basketball fans in general.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_