Matisse Thybulle

Despite being considered one of the best wing defenders in the NBA, Thybulle is yet to carve out a role sizeable enough to make him anything but a situational streamer. While he held some relevance in standard leagues, his value relies on two categories: steals and blocks. He finished with averages of 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks in under 25.5 minutes. Unfortunately, he only managed 5.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.7 three-pointers -- numbers which are nowhere near being fantasy-relevant. Looking ahead, it is hard to see his role changing too much, despite the departure of Danny Green. De'Anthony Melton should slide into those minutes, and while his offensive game is far from elite, he does provide more than Thybulle. The defensive upside, while warranting some attention in standard formats, is not enough to make him a viable target outside of deeper leagues, at least until he proves otherwise.

Thybulle's sophomore season with the Sixers was remarkably similar to his rookie season in 2019-20. With Philadelphia re-signing Danny Green to a two-year deal, Thybulle will continue as primarily a reserve on the wing. Of course, things could change radically should Philly pull off a much-rumored Ben Simmons trade. Thybulle's rookie contract could be very appealing to a trade partner. Or the Sixers could execute a quality-for-quantity deal that bumps Thybulle further down the bench. As of now, the University of Washington product seems destined for another 20-minutes-per-game season with contributions in steals, blocks and three pointers. The 3-and-D specialist did take a step backwards with his outside shooting last year, hitting only 30.1 percent of his three point attempts. And he's a surprisingly poor free throw shooter, making only 44.4 percent from the charity stripe. Luckily, Thybulle's free throw volume is extremely low, so it's not a major hindrance for fantasy managers. While Thybulle is a nice rotational player for the Sixers, he probably doesn't belong on most fantasy teams -- unless managers are desperate for defensive stats.

The Sixers moved up in the draft to select Thybulle with the 20th-overall pick in 2019, viewing the polished defensive-minded wing as a potentially key role player for a team that viewed itself as on the brink of a title run. Though that run never came, Thybulle was more or less as advertised. He started 14 games but primarily filled a fairly significant role off the bench, managing 1.4 steals and 0.7 blocks in 19.8 minutes per game. On a per-minute basis, Thybulle trailed only Kris Dunn in steals among qualified players while leading all wings in blocks. The rookie had a predictably low 11.2 percent usage rate, but he knocked down threes at an acceptable clip, posting an almost precisely league-average 35.7 percent three-point percentage. Thybulle should have the chance to build on a strong rookie campaign and could improve his raw numbers if his minutes increase, though he doesn't seem to have the skillset to suddenly become something other than a role player. He also played a full four years in college, so he could have less development remaining than is typical for a second-year player.

The 76ers traded the 24th and 33rd picks in the draft to the Celtics in order to snag the 20th overall pick and select Thybulle. Thybulle was a four-year starter at Washington, averaging 9.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 3.5 steals, and 2.3 blocks in 36 games as a senior this past season. In addition to being selected to the All-Pac-12 First Team, Thybulle was named Defensive Player of the Year in college basketball, boasting one of the most unique defensive profiles of any prospect in recent memory. At 6-foot-5, 200-pounds, Thybulle's ability to guard three positions is obvious, and he might be able to check power forwards in certain situations. While he wasn't a great three-point shooter last season (49-for-151, 30.5 percent), his career mark in college finished at a respectable 35.8 percent on 534 attempts. Five summer league appearances only confirmed optimistic opinions about the rookie, as he averaged 11.6 points (42.9 FG%, 39.3 3P%, 91.7 FT%), 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.2 blocks across 26.1 minutes. Thybulle's path to minutes on the 76ers is less than ideal, but he'll have the opportunity to snag minutes at backup shooting guard and small forward if he can outplay Zhaire Smith and James Ennis. It's possible Thybulle returns standard league fantasy value if he can knock down his threes and get enough minutes to rack up some defensive stats, though he should probably only be drafted in deeper formats.