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Matisse Thybulle Shows Off Improved Handles in Workout Video

The upcoming NBA season will be crucial for Philadelphia 76ers veteran Matisse Thybulle. Although the Sixers exercised their team option on Thybulle’s contract

Justin Grasso

Matisse Thybulle Shows Off Improved Handles in Workout Video
Matisse Thybulle Shows Off Improved Handles in Workout Video /
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The upcoming NBA season will be crucial for Philadelphia 76ers veteran Matisse Thybulle.

Although the Sixers exercised their team option on Thybulle’s contract last October, the veteran’s future in Philadelphia beyond the 2022-2023 season remains unclear.

Just a season ago, Thybulle was often regarded as a highly valuable player in the eyes of Philly’s front office. As the Sixers engaged in trade talks with the Brooklyn Nets back in February, Philly’s President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey spoke about Thybulle as if he’s untouchable.

Fast forward to the 2022 offseason, and many wonder if Thybulle will finish the season with the Sixers. Defensively, Thybulle is recognized as one of the league’s best on the perimeter.

Since joining the Sixers via the 2019 NBA Draft, the former Washington standout could carve out a role for himself as his defense was too valuable to let it go to waste.

Philly hoped that Thybulle’s offense would grow as the years passed, but he remained limited offensively beyond his rookie effort. At this point, Thybulle’s 2022-2023 season might be make or break. As Thybulle needs to show improvements on offense, it looks like he’s doing a lot of work on his handles in the offseason.

Better dribbling and an improved three-point shot could do wonders for Thybulle’s game. After averaging 35 percent from beyond the arc during his rookie season, Thybulle failed to average over 32 percent the following two years.

While he put up a career-high average of 5.7 points per game last season, Thybulle’s inability to create points on offense often made it difficult for Doc Rivers to play him down the stretch of the year. And when the playoffs rolled around, he became borderline unplayable. 

Even a slight boost on offense could be great for Thybulle and the Sixers, as the two-time NBA All-Defensive Second Team member needs to demonstrate value on both sides of the court to maintain a steady role throughout the year.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Title: Credentialed writer/reporter covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation Email: JustinGrasso32@Gmail.com Location: Philadelphia, PA Expertise: Reporting, insight, and analysis on the Sixers and the NBA  Justin Grasso is a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s FanNation.  Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writer’s Association.  Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoNBA

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