Draft Profile: Matisse Thybulle

As we count down to the 2019 NBA Draft, the staff here at Cavs: The Blog will be taking a look at the players who could be available to the Cleveland Cavaliers with either of their first-round picks. Today, we take a look at Washington Huskies swingman, Matisse Thybulle.

Background Information

• Name: Matisse Thybulle
• Age: 22
• Height: 6’5″
• Weight: 195
• College: Played four years for the Washington Huskies.
• Accolades: 2019 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, 2019 Lefty Driesell Award winner, 2019 NCAA season steals leader, 2019 First-Team All-PAC-12, Two-Time PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year (2018-2019), Two-Time Pack-12 All-Defensive Team (2018-2019), PAC-12 career steals leader
• Background: While he was born in Arizona, Thybulle spent much of his childhood living in Australia. He started playing basketball when he moved back to the United States around his eighth birthday. A bit of a late bloomer to the game as his coordination took time to catch up to his body, Thybulle was a college teammate of NBA players Marquese Chriss, Dejounte Murray, and Markelle Fultz.

Strengths

Thybulle was considered by many to be the nation’s best defender this season, and he certainly deserved the recognition. Using his athleticism and 7’1″ wingspan, Thybulle was an absolute terror  while playing in coach Mike Hopkins’s 2-3 zone defense. His quick hands allowed him to average an NCAA-leading 3.5 steals per game. Despite being just 6’5″, Thybulle averaged an impressive 2.2 blocks per game. Not only is Thybulle is one of only three players to average at least two steals and two blocks in the past 20 years, he’s the only college player average three steals and two blocks per game over that same span. He does an excellent job of not only being in the right place of defense, but actively disrupting the opposing team’s offense and forcing them into bad shots.

While Thybulle is much more of a work in progress on the offense end, there are also positive signs there. He shot 78% from the free throw line for his college career, capped off by an impressive 85% this season. While he shot just 30.8% from deep this season, Thybulle has shot 35.8% on threes for his career, attempting more than four a game over each of the last three seasons. He also does a solid job of scoring in transition, as well as moving without the ball, and is a high I.Q. (if not polished) player on both ends of the floor.

Weaknesses

As great as Thybulle is defensively, there are still a few concerns on that end. Most importantly, while he is obviously a terrific defender, how much have Thybulle’s defensive statistics been inflated by playing in a 2-3 zone defense. This is something that has been seen with former Syracuse players who have been drafted over the years. While they statistically project to be good defenders, they tend to struggle with NBA defense, particularly off-ball defense. Carmelo Anthony and Dion Waiters both projected to be good defenders. We saw how that turned out. While there is little doubt about Thybulle’s ability as a one-on-one defender, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to playing in the defensive schemes more commonly seen in the NBA. While he’s also a bit on the short side for a wing at 6’5″, his 7’1″ wingspan should more than make up for that.

Of course, there are far more concerns on the offensive end. Thybulle is a limited ball handler for an NBA wing. He has no left hand to speak of, and doesn’t really create for himself or others. Most of his drives are of the simple line drive variety, and struggles with both shooting and finishing off the dribble. While Thybulle isn’t a bad passer and typically moved the ball well within the flow of Washington’s offense, he isn’t going to actually initiate much of the offense at the NBA level, putting a cap on his development as a player. Despite his solid shooting from the line, Thybulle rarely gets there, averaging just 1.6 free throw attempts per game for his college career. Finally, while he has shown potential as a shooter in the past, there’s no debate that Thybulle has struggled from deep this season. If he’s going to get on the floor to show off that defense, he has to be able to show enough offensive skill to keep opposing defenses from completely ignoring him.

Thoughts

There are typically two schools of thought when drafting in the later stages of the NBA Draft. One one hand, teams might go for a raw prospect who they think has high upside if he can be developed properly. On the other hand, some teams will draft a player with limited upside if they think he can contribute right away. At 22 years old and nearly two full years older than Collin Sexton, Matisse Thybulle undoubtedly falls into the latter category. There’s little doubt that he will be a solid defender at the NBA level, even if he isn’t the historically elite one that his college statistics suggest he will be. His lack of offensive polish is a real concern, especially given his age, but Thybulle has shown enough of a work ethic and shooting potential that a team with a good development program in place should be able to get him to be at least adequate at the “3” part of being a 3-and-D player. The “D” part should already be there. At worst, Thybulle seems like a David Nwaba type of player who does enough things on both ends to be a productive rotation player. His upside seems like a Danny Green elite-level role player. Players such as Garrett Temple and Iman Shumpert are other comps that fall in between Thybulle’s ceiling and floor. Regardless of comparison, it’s hard to see a player with Thybulle’s work ethic and athleticism completely failing in the NBA, and the Cleveland Cavaliers would be wise to take a flier on him if he is there at the 26th pick in the draft.