In order to fully become a legitimate rotational player in the NBA, especially on a team like the Philadelphia 76ers where spacing is so important, one has to be able to knock down the 3-pointer.
As Matisse Thybulle enters his second season in the league, he understands that he will have to be able to knock down the outside shot consistently. He was already terrific on the defensive end, but if he can knock down more threes, then it sets him up for a long career.
“I think 3-point shooting will be an emphasis for the rest of my career,” he stated. “I don’t think I’ll ever be as good as I want to be at it so yeah, it’s going to be an emphasis.”
The important thing for Thybulle was just putting up shots and continuing to put in the work. He did shoot 35.7% from deep as a rookie, but it came in peaks and valleys.
He shot 32.1% from deep through his first 16 games which was then followed by a blistering 56.4% from deep through his next 14 games. He then suffered an injury and when he came back, he shot only 27.8% from beyond the arc over the final 35 games.
“Just getting up shots and refining things,” he said of his offseason workouts. “I don’t think there’s any need for a major change on how I play basketball.”
The offseason was definitely tough for everybody involved, but this was the first real one for Thybulle and it was much different due to the restrictions the pandemic offered.
“The offseason was tough,” he said. “I’m not really sure what a normal NBA offseason looks like, but mine was a little all over the place. I spent a lot of time in Arizona with my dad and my sister. With COVID, it makes it hard to get into gyms and things like that. I’m lucky enough to have somewhere in Arizona, where I spent most of my time, to get in there, but it’s hard and it’s always a risk. It’s hard to find a situation you’re comfortable with anywhere outside of our practice facility so I was lucky to get into a gym while I was out there, but it’s not easy.”
With the season getting set to get underway on Dec. 22, Thybulle will have only have a few weeks to fully prepare for the upcoming season. He will have to make sure his shot and locked and ready to go for when the time comes. [lawrence-related id=39695,39681,39678]