Matisse Thybulle

Matisse Thybulle
Matisse Thybulle
Born	Matisse Vincent Thybulle; March 4, 1997 (age 29); Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Occupation	Professional basketball player
Years active	2019–present
Known for	NBA player for Portland Trail Blazers; NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2021, 2022)

Matisse Vincent Thybulle ( ; born March 4, 1997) is a professional basketball athlete holding dual Australian-American nationality, currently playing for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics, he was immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers the following day. While with the 76ers, Thybulle was recognized on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in both 2021 and 2022 before being traded to the Trail Blazers in 2023.

His collegiate career was spent with the Washington Huskies. In his senior year (2019), Thybulle received national acclaim as the premier defensive player, securing both the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Lefty Driesell Award. He also earned first-team honors in the all-conference selections within the Pac-12 and was twice honored as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Thybulle holds citizenship in both Australia and the United States, having spent seven formative years residing in Sydney. He represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo as a member of their national basketball team.

Early life

Born in Scottsdale, Arizona, Thybulle is the son of Greg, an engineer originally from Haiti who grew up in Harlem, New York, and Dr. Elizabeth Thybulle, a naturopath who passed away from leukemia in 2015. His name pays homage to French artist Henri Matisse. In 1998, his family relocated to Sydney, Australia, settling on Sydney’s North Shore where he attended North Sydney Demonstration School. During this period, his athletic focus was primarily on swimming rather than basketball. The family returned to the United States in 2005, establishing themselves in Sammamish, Washington, near Seattle.

Thybulle experienced difficulty with consistent layups until approximately eighth grade when his motor skills developed further. He spent two years at Skyline High School before transferring to Eastside Catholic. Recruiting services rated him as a four-star prospect by Scout.com and a three-star by ESPN. He completed high school in 2015. In recognition of his accomplishments, Eastside Catholic retired his jersey number in 2024.

College career

Thybulle matriculated at the University of Washington in Seattle, influenced significantly by his connection with Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar. As a freshman during the 2015–16 season, he started all 34 games and averaged 6.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.6 assists over 24.1 minutes per contest. His sophomore year (2016–17) saw improvements to averages of 10.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game; however, the team struggled with a 9–22 record which resulted in Romar’s dismissal.

Though he contemplated transferring, Thybulle chose to stay for his junior season (2017–18) after meeting new head coach Mike Hopkins, who implemented a highly regarded 2–3 zone defense system. On February 17, he recorded a personal best of 26 points during a victory against Colorado. With an impressive wingspan of , Thybulle became integral to Washington’s defensive approach, helping secure their first season with at least 20 wins since 2011–12. He made history as Washington’s first-ever recipient of the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award. That season he averaged a career-high 11.2 points per game, set a Huskies single-season record with 101 steals, and led with 49 blocks. He also became only the second athlete in Pac-12 history to accumulate at least 90 steals and 40 blocks within one season.

During his senior year (2018–19), Thybulle delivered standout performances including a game with 17 points, six steals, and five blocks that contributed to clinching a share of the Pac-12 regular-season championship. He earned Pac-12 Player of the Week recognition after averaging 13.5 points, 6.0 steals, 4.5 blocks, and 5.0 rebounds across two contests. That season culminated with him receiving both the prestigious Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Lefty Driesell Award, distinguishing him as the nation’s elite defender. Additionally, he secured first-team All-Pac-12 honors and repeated as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Thybulle led all NCAA Division I players by recording 126 steals—surpassing former record holder Jason Kidd for most steals in a single Pac-12 season—and ranked eighth nationally with 83 blocks. Notably, he was the only player over two decades to achieve at least 100 steals alongside 80 blocks during one campaign and among just three players averaging over two steals and two blocks per game within that timeframe. He surpassed former NBA star Gary Payton to become the Pac-12’s all-time leader in career steals with a total of 331 and was also the first player in conference history to have two seasons exceeding 100 steals each. Moreover, Thybulle tied Washington’s career blocks record previously set by Chris Welp, remaining uniquely positioned as the only Husky ranked among the top ten all-time leaders for both steals and blocks.

Philadelphia 76ers (2019–2023)

Following their second-round playoff defeat to the eventual champions, the Toronto Raptors, the Philadelphia 76ers sought to strengthen their roster ahead of the 2019 NBA draft. To enhance their championship prospects, they moved up from the 24th to the 20th pick by trading with the Boston Celtics in order to acquire Thybulle's rights. On July 3, 2019, he officially signed with Philadelphia. Thybulle made his first appearance on October 23, making notable contributions on both ends of the floor in a victory against the Celtics. On December 8, he tallied 20 points, including five three-pointers and three steals versus the Raptors, becoming just the second Sixers rookie since 1983—alongside Allen Iverson—to reach this milestone.

During the 2020–21 campaign, Thybulle was honored with a place on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, despite averaging only around 20 minutes per contest. He led the league in steals per 100 possessions at 3.8 and averaged 5.6 deflections every 36 minutes. On October 29, 2021, Philadelphia opted to extend Thybulle’s contract through the 2022–23 season by exercising their team option.

Portland Trail Blazers (2023–present)

On February 9, 2023, Thybulle was involved in a four-team trade that sent him to the Portland Trail Blazers, alongside transactions involving the Charlotte Hornets and New York Knicks. He debuted for Portland on February 13, delivering a strong performance with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists, and three blocks in a 127–115 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

National team career

Thybulle holds citizenship in both Australia and the United States, allowing eligibility for either national squad. Although proud of his Australian heritage, he initially did not assume an automatic spot on the Australian Boomers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On February 3, 2021, he was officially named to Australia's Olympic roster for the postponed Games that followed shortly after the 2021 NBA Finals. Thybulle played a key role in helping Australia secure its first-ever Olympic medal in men's basketball by contributing to their bronze medal victory over Slovenia.

Career statistics

*	Led NCAA Division I

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 65 || 14 || 19.8 || .423 || .357 || .610 || 1.6 || 1.2 || 1.4 || .7 || 4.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 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;"| Philadelphia | 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;"| Philadelphia | 49 || 6 || 12.1 || .431 || .333 || .750 || 1.3 || .5 || .9 || .3 || 2.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 22 || 22 || 27.7 || .438 || .388 || .625 || 3.5 || 1.4 || 1.7 || .8 || 7.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 65 || 19 || 22.9 || .397 || .346 || .759 || 2.1 || 1.4 || 1.7 || .8 || 5.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 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 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 4 || 1 || 18.8 || .429 || .250 || — || 1.8 || .5 || .8 || .3 || 1.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2021 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 12 || 1 || 18.3 || .481 || .324 || .400 || 1.4 || .3 || 1.3 || .9 || 5.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2022 | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 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 | 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;"| Washington | 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;"| Washington | 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;"| Washington | 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 practices Catholicism and received confirmation during his childhood.

On April 10, 2022, it was revealed that Thybulle had not completed COVID-19 vaccination, rendering him ineligible for games in Canada during the Philadelphia 76ers' playoff matchup against the Toronto Raptors. He stated that this was a personal and long-held choice, having only taken the initial dose of the Pfizer vaccine and being raised in an environment focused on holistic health practices including Chinese medicine and naturopathy.

External links

Washington Huskies profile