The OKC Thunder might have already spent their first round NBA Draft pick when seemingly promising Matisse Thybulle he will be their selection, but was that a smart move?
Just look at Matisse Thybulle. His game, him physically — look at him. He is the Sam Presti prototype. That is why many believe the report the OKC Thunder general manager promised to draft Thybulle if he falls to pick 21, the Thunder’s first and currently only selection in the June NBA Draft.
The 6’5 wing is seemingly a great Andre Roberson replacement. At this point, who knows if Andre Roberson will ever play basketball again and if I was a betting man I would bet if he does play again, he will be a shell of himself due to his gruesome injury and setbacks.
I hope I am wrong, despite his offensive woes, watching Roberson is extremely fun. But it does not seem likely that he will return to his elite level defense. If his defense falls off even a little bit in his return, his offensive game or lack thereof will render him meaningless.
That is where Matisse Thybulle comes in. Thybulle is one of the most polarizing prospects in OKC Thunder history, a portion of the fanbase loves the idea of Oklahoma City promising their pick away to a seemingly great defender with more of an offensive game in his bag than Andre Roberson.
Another portion of the fanbase throws their hands up and says “here we go again!” another long lengthy defending non-shooter who lacks an offensive presence is that really the answer this team needs? That formula has gotten them bounced in the first round each of the last three seasons.
Neither of these opinions is right or wrong, at least not yet, and as is the case with most hot button topics, the truth is often somewhere in the middle.
Specifics:
- Height: 6’5
- Weight: 200
- Wingspan: 7’0
- Position: Shooting Guard
- Age: 22
- College: Washington University
- Home Town: Issaquah, Washington
Skills
Matisse Thybulle can and will buy into a system. We will talk about that Washington Zone defensive extensively, but the fact he executed it at such a high level throughout his entire offensive career, shows how coachable he is.
Zone defenses can help mask a player, but the vast majority of the time he was helping mask others not the other way around. Coachability is key for a young player trying to fight for playing time on a team trying to contend.
The second biggest plus, though this being the biggest on court plus, is his off ball defense. Thybulle plays the passing lanes perfectly, and at times watching him you are just captivated by how it seems as if he knows where the ball is going before the ball handler does, he is truly playing free safety on the basketball court. Does that sound familiar?
The OKC Thunder are at their best when they are playing the passing lanes, running in transition, and getting easy offensive buckets.
Thybulle’s ability to close out on shooters who are not even originally his responsibility but he is making up for a teammates miscue and still leaving his man and correcting the mistake in time to disrupt the offensive play is just jaw dropping.
Despite what it seems like in your subconscious of past OKC Thunder draft picks and “Presti Guys” Matisse Thybulle is not an offensive liability, or at least he was not in college.
Thybulle can make his free throws so you can not play him off the floor, rather hack him off the floor, the way teams could do with Andre Roberson. Beyond that Thybulle is a decent 3-point shooter with the shooting form (yes, that is important) and potential to improve in the NBA Ranks as he gets better coaching, more time to grow, and floor spacing.
He is not a ball stopper or a ball panicker. Thybulle is just a smart basketball player. He makes the right play on both ends of the floor. Often times an offense has a ball stopper where the ball just goes to die, get dribbled into the hardwood until it dents the floor or jack up a bad shot.
On the flip side, offenses have Ball Panickers guys who are deathly afraid of the basketball and do not want to touch the rock without a clear move to be made (catch and shoot, lay up on a back cut) they can not hold onto the ball without freaking out and trying to force it back to the offensive focal point often times resulting in a turnover. Thybulle is neither of these which in itself can bolster the Oklahoma City Offense.
Weaknesses
The biggest weakness, or rather question for Matisse Thybulle, is can he play on ball defense? The Washington Zone helped Thybulle show off his athletic ability, his basketball IQ, and display how good he is at recovering from his or someone else’s mistake. A zone defense gives you the freedom to do that.
We have seen that Thybulle clearly can play zone defense, and great off ball defense, but how is he in a common NBA situation of one on one iso ball? With the Oklahoma City Thunder switching almost everything on defense, though Thybulle might not start on a guy like James Harden one on one, he could get switched onto him pretty easily and no one really knows how he will fair. Look at how many times Terrance Ferguson has been switched onto James Harden in their matchups.
His on ball defense is an interesting weakness for all the things I have listed, but even I hesitate to say it is a true weakness rather a question because I believe he has the Basketball IQ to learn on the fly, and quickly adjust to life in the NBA within a year or two, or if OKC is lucky, it might just all click right away.
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His offensive game is a weakness, despite his basketball IQ, He can not make plays offensively with the ball in his hands, he is an inconsistent shooter, and has a slow jump shot that will be tested in the NBA where defenses are faster to react and close out on a shooter they have left open.
The last weakness I have for Thybulle is seemingly his lack of want or belief in himself to go get a huge defensive rebound within the trees down low. Thybulle is wildly athletic and needs the proper coaching to tap into his rebounding potential.
Combine Performance
Matisse Thybulle pulled out of the NBA Combine with an alleged promise from the OKC Thunder.
Awards and Honors:
- 2018 PAC 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Pro Comparison:
Matisse Thybulle reminds me a lot of Thabo Sefolosha. A very good wing defender whose offensive game leaves some to be desired but is not a total black hole on that side of the floor.
Current Ranking:
- The Ringer: 25
- NBA DraftNet: 26
- FanSided Busting Brackets: 23
- FanSided The Step Back: 27
- ESPN (Note: from the paid portion of site ESPN+): 24
- CBS Sports: 29
- Sports Illustrated: 28
- Bleacher Report: 26
- Basketball Insiders: 25
- NBC: N/A
Fit with OKC
The fit with the OKC Thunder is interesting, are you a glasses half full or half empty person? If you believe Andre Roberson can return from his injury that has kept him out for over a year, and be a
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defensive phenom then Thybulle fits perfectly with the OKC Thunder in the younger Andre Roberson role. Thybulle can bounce back and forth from the Blue to the Thunder and learn from Roberson as Roberson learned from Sefolosha.
If you believe Andre Roberson may never play again or will be a shell of himself with a defensive drop off and still no offensive game, Thybulle would be a prototypical Andre Roberson replacement.
Matisse Thybulle is smart enough to play right now in the NBA, and with a bit of a learning curve could come close to what Andre Roberson developed into as a defender with much more of an offensive game.
Thybulle fits well with the OKC Thunder and is not just another “Presti Guy.” despite what it might seem like on the surface.
With full disclosure, when the first report came out of the OKC Thunder positionally promising their pick away to Thybulle, I was a little bit against it, but after further researching the prospect, this truly would be a very good pick up for the OKC Thunder who hope to finally put all the pieces together and at least get out of the first round.
Will the OKC Thunder actually select Matisse Thybulle? That is yet to be seen, but if they do, I don’t think OKC Thunder fans should be against it.