Matisse Vincent Thybulle ( ; born March 4, 1997) is an Australian-American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He was selected in the first round of the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

before being traded to the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

the following day. Thybulle was named to the

NBA All-Defensive Second Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

as a member of the 76ers in 2021 and 2022. He was traded to the Trail Blazers in 2023. Thybulle played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) N ...

. As a senior in 2019, he was recognized as the top defender in the nation with the

Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Awards established in 2018 College basketball trophies and awards in the United States 2018 establishments in the United States ...

and the

Lefty Driesell Award The Lefty Driesell Defensive Player of the Year Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's college basketball defender in NCAA Division I competition. The award was established in 2010 and is named after head coach Lefty Dries ...

. Thybulle also earned first-team all-conference honors in the

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

, and repeated as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. Thybulle is a dual American-Australian citizen and spent seven years of his childhood in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He was a member of the Australian national team at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo.

Early life

Thybulle was born in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

, the son of Greg, a Haitian-born engineer raised in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

neighborhood of New York, and Dr. Elizabeth Thybulle, a

naturopath Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult ...

who died of leukemia in 2015. He was named after French artist

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

. In 1998, his family moved to

, Australia, where they lived for seven years. The Thybulle family lived in Sydney's North Shore while in Australia and the children attended elementary school at North Sydney Demonstration School. Matisse did not play much basketball in Australia and focused more on swimming while there, where he said lifeguards "were a really big deal". His family returned to the U.S. in 2005 and settled in

Sammamish, Washington Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is s ...

, a suburb east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. Thybulle could not make

layup A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, "laying" the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a Jump ...

s consistently until around the eighth grade, when his coordination began matching his speed. He attended Skyline High School for two years, then transferred to nearby

Eastside Catholic Eastside Catholic School is a private Roman Catholic secondary school located in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle within the Archdiocese of Seattle. It has a faith-based educational program for students in grades 6 through 12. Des ...

, where he was ranked a four-star recruit by Scout.com and three-star by

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

, and graduated in 2015. In 2024, Thybulle's East Catholic High school jersey number was retired.

College career

Thybulle chose to attend the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in Seattle based on his relationship with Huskies coach

Lorenzo Romar Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as an assistant coach for the Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball, Loyola Marymount Lions, a position he has held since 2024. He pre ...

. He started all 34 games as a true freshman in 2015–16, averaging 6.2 points, 3.2

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, and 1.6 assists in 24.1 minutes per game. As a sophomore in 2016–17, he averaged 10.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 steals, but the Huskies won only two games in conference and were in Romar's fifteenth season at Washington, and he was fired. Thybulle considered leaving the program after his coach left. However, he decided to return for 2017–18 after meeting with new coach Mike Hopkins. The former 22-year

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

assistant under

Jim Boeheim James Arthur Boeheim Jr. ( ; born November 17, 1944) is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Athletic Director at Syracuse University. From 1976 until 2023, he was the head coach of the Syracuse Orange ...

sold him on the Orange's acclaimed

2–3 zone defense The 2–3 zone defense is a defensive strategy used in basketball as an alternative to man-to-man defense. It is referred to as the 2–3 because of its formation on the court, which consists of two players at the front of the defense (closer to ...

that he planned to install at Washington. On February 17, Thybulle scored a career-high 26 points in an 82–59 win over

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. Possessing a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

, he was instrumental to the Huskies' zone defense, which was a key to the team's first 20-win season since 2011–12. He was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in school history to receive the honor. Thybulle averaged a career-high 11.2 points per game, set a Huskies single-season record with 101 steals, and led Washington with a team-leading 49 blocks. He became the second player in Pac-12 history with at least 90 steals and 40 blocks in the same season, joining

Jeff Trepagnier Jeffery Trepagnier (born July 11, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. Early life Trepagnier played basketball at Compton High School, in Compton, California. College career Trepagnier played college basketball for the U ...

(

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

, 1999–2000). Matisse Thybulle

In 2018–19, Thybulle had 17 points, six steals and five blocks in a 64–55 home win over

to help the Huskies clinch a share of the Pac-12 regular season title. Including a win earlier in the week against

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, he averaged 13.5 points, 6.0 steals, 4.5 blocks and 5.0 rebounds to earn Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career. Thybulle won the

Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Awards established in 2018 College basketball trophies and awards in the United States 2018 establishments in the United States ...

and

as the top defensive player in the nation. He was also named first-team All-Pac-12, and became the second player in conference history to repeat as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. He led all

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

players with 126 steals, which also broke the Pac-12 single-season record held previously by

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the List of current NBA head coaches, head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely regar ...

. Thybulle also ranked eighth nationally with 83 blocks, becoming the only player in the past two decades to record at least 100 steals and 80 blocks. With averages of 3.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, he was one of three players in the last 20 years to average at least 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in a season. Thybulle also passed

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

to become the conference leader in career steals with 331, and was the first in Pac-12 history with two 100-steal seasons. He also tied Washington's career blocks record of 186 held by

Chris Welp Christian Ansgar Welp (January 2, 1964 – March 1, 2015) was a German professional basketball player. During his playing career, he was a , center. He played three seasons in the NBA. He was the MVP of the 1993 EuroBasket. College career Wel ...

, and he is the only player in Huskies history ranked in the top 10 in both career steals and blocks.

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2019–2023)

The

targeted Thybulle leading up to the

. They were coming off a second-round playoff loss to the eventual NBA champions, the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

, and were seeking someone who could immediately contribute to their goal of a championship. The 76ers had Thybulle stop working out for other teams, promising in exchange to select him in the first round with their No. 24 overall pick. They effectively ended up moving up to No. 20 to select him, receiving his draft rights from the

in a trade for Philadelphia's 24th and 33rd picks. On July 3, 2019, Thybulle signed with the 76ers. On October 23, he made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 107–93 win over the Celtics with three points, a rebound, an assist, two steals and two blocks. After scoring 20 points, hitting five three-pointers, and making three steals in a win over the Raptors on December 8, he joined

Allen Iverson Allen Ezail Iverson ( ; born June 7, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "The Answer", he played 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as both a shooting guard and point guard. As an NBA rook ...

as the only Sixers rookies to record five threes and three steals in a game since 1983. On July 11, 2020, Thybulle started uploading a series of vlog style

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

videos showcasing the

2020 NBA Bubble The 2020 NBA Bubble was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its players from the COVID-19 pandemic during the final eight games ...

at the

ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is a multi-purpose sports complex located at Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, near Orlando. The complex allows families to combine tournaments and competition with a visit to ...

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

. In his second season in

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, Thybulle was named to the

, though he only averaged 20 minutes per game. He was the NBA leader with 3.8 steals per 100 possessions as well as 5.6 deflections per 36 minutes. On October 29, 2021, the 76ers picked up Thybulle's team option, extending his contract through the 2022–23 season.

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–present)

On February 9, 2023, Thybulle was traded to the

in a four-team trade involving the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

and

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

. He made his Trail Blazers debut on February 13, recording 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and three blocks in a 127–115 win over the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

National team career

Thybulle is a dual citizen of Australia as well as the United States and is therefore eligible to represent either national team. When asked if he would represent the

Australian Boomers The Australia men's national basketball team, nicknamed the Boomers after the slang term for a male kangaroo, represents Australia in international basketball competition. Since the late 1980s, Australia has placed among the world elite teams, ...

at the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, Thybulle said he was proud of his Australian roots but would not presume he would earn automatic selection. On February 3, 2021, Thybulle was named as part of the

squad for the delayed

, which began immediately after the

2021 NBA Finals The 2021 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2020–21 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs. In this best-of-seven playoff series, the Eastern Conference champion Milwaukee Bucks de ...

. Thybulle helped Australia to obtain their first ever Olympic medal in men's basketball, beating Slovenia in the bronze medal game.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 65 , , 14 , , 19.8 , , .423 , , .357 , , .610 , , 1.6 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 4.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 8 , , 20.0 , , .420 , , .301 , , .444 , , 1.9 , , 1.0 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 3.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 66 , , 50 , , 25.5 , , .500 , , .313 , , .791 , , 2.3 , , 1.1 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 49 , , 6 , , 12.1 , , .431 , , .333 , , .750 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .9 , , .3 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, 22 , , 22 , , 27.7 , , .438 , , .388 , , .625 , , 3.5 , , 1.4 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 65 , , 19 , , 22.9 , , .397 , , .346 , , .759 , , 2.1 , , 1.4 , , 1.7 , , .8 , , 5.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 15 , , 5 , , 20.8 , , .477 , , .438 , , .467 , , 3.5 , , 1.9 , , 2.2 , , .6 , , 7.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 357 , , 124 , , 20.9 , , .438 , , .343 , , .661 , , 2.0 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , 4.9

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 1 , , 18.8 , , .429 , , .250 , , — , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .8 , , .3 , , 1.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 1 , , 18.3 , , .481 , , .324 , , .400 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , 5.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 9 , , 0 , , 15.2 , , .458 , , .286 , , .333 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .8 , , .8 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 25 , , 2 , , 17.3 , , .470 , , .308 , , .375 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 3.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;",

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 34 , , 34 , , 24.1 , , .397 , , .366 , , .714 , , 3.2 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 6.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, 31 , , 31 , , 29.9 , , .448 , , .405 , , .841 , , 3.1 , , 1.8 , , 2.1 , , .7 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 33 , , 32.3 , , .445 , , .365 , , .714 , , 2.9 , , 2.6 , , 3.0 , , 1.4 , , 11.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 36 , , 36 , , 31.1 , , .415 , , .305 , , .851 , , 3.1 , , 2.1 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 3.5* , , 2.3 , , 9.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 135 , , 134 , , 29.4 , , .429 , , .358 , , .782 , , 3.1 , , 2.0 , , 2.4 , , 1.4 , , 9.2

Personal life

Thybulle is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, having been

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands. Catholicis ...

as a child. On April 10, 2022, it went public that Thybulle was not fully vaccinated for COVID-19. This made him ineligible to play in Canada during the 76ers opening round of the NBA playoffs against the Toronto Raptors. "Yeah, I'm not fully vaccinated," he told

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

's Rich Hofmann. "This was a decision I made a long time ago. I thought a lot about what I would say here. Essentially I made this choice and I thought I can keep it to myself, I can keep it private, but people are always going to wonder why." Thybulle, who said that he was brought up in a "holistic household" with "Chinese medicine and naturopathic doctors" did say that he had received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine but did not continue on for the following shot.

Notes

References

External links

*
Washington Huskies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thybulle, Matisse 1997 births Living people 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup players African-American Catholics American emigrants to Australia American men's basketball players American sportspeople of Haitian descent Australian men's basketball players Australian people of Haitian descent Australian people of African-American descent Australian Roman Catholics Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players from King County, Washington Basketball players from Scottsdale, Arizona Boston Celtics draft picks Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics NBA players from Australia Olympic basketball players for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in basketball Sportspeople from Issaquah, Washington Philadelphia 76ers players Portland Trail Blazers players Shooting guards Small forwards Washington Huskies men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen

Early life

College career

Professional career

Philadelphia 76ers (2019–2023)

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–present)

National team career

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

Personal life

See also

Notes

References

External links