The Philadelphia 76ers have had a solid season led by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons who were both named to the All-Star team. However, they were hoping to send one of their younger players to All-Star weekend in Chicago and it did not happen.
They were hoping to send rookie Matisse Thybulle to the Rising Stars Challenge, but when the rosters were announced on Friday, he was not one of the participants. It then caused his agent to let off a controversial statement in support of the rookie.
“I was surprised,” said Al Horford. “I feel like he’s part of a winning team and he’s having a real impact on a winning team. I’m disappointed about that. I don’t know how things are going to work out, but I hope they find a way to put him in there because he deserves to be there.”
Coach Brett Brown, who has trusted Thybulle enough to throw him into the starting lineup 10 times and give him 20 minutes per night, was surprised at that as well.
“I was,” he added. “I think he’s shown his versatility in a bunch of ways. He’s for sure shown defensively and I think the group that they have selected is for sure a talented group. I’m biased, I see what I see, he’s come in as a starter. Just look at the numbers and I think he should have been in the game.”
Brett Brown was surprised to see Matisse Thybulle not named to the Rising Stars Challenge #Sixers pic.twitter.com/pkd4S0SV6C
— Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) February 1, 2020
Could it be because he plays defense and he is not flashy offensively? The league normally does not reward players for those types of players who prioritize defense over offense for All-Star events.
“It should, especially with the type of impact that he’s having,” Horford added. “With our group and plays that he makes. He’s a true team player, we’ve asked him to do certain things, and that’s what he’s doing. If he was on a bad team he’d probably be able to do a lot more and have better numbers so it’s like what are we rewarding?”
There is still a chance Thybulle can get in due to the injury to Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and the New Orleans Pelicans could hold Zion Williamson out just for injury management. So there is still a shot for him to get in.
At the end of the day, the Sixers have bigger fish to fry and that’s to focus on winning a title. The Rising Stars Challenge is a nice accomplishment for a rookie selected with the 20th pick, but it is not the biggest thing for him or the Sixers as a team. [lawrence-related id=24665,24643,24619]