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September 25, 2022 | 6:25 am EDT Update
Matisse Thybulle: 'I would always want to stay in Philly'
Thybulle chose to do everything he could do mentally and physically to be the best version of himself as a player and person. He’s learned that it’s more about the journey than the destination. “At this point, I would always want to stay in Philly,” he said. “And if it’s up to me, that’s always going to be my choice. “But considering that I’ve realized the reality of how far out of my control it is, if I do get traded or something does end up happening, I can look at myself in the mirror at the end of the day.”
Shortly after mentioning the inspiration he takes from John Wall’s struggles with injury, he spoke on how he relates to that and how the narratives pushed by Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley make it harder to mentally overcome the obstacles: “People go through it… Doesn’t matter how much money you got, how famous you are, like it’s real, people go through everyday struggles… I think it’s kinda ignorant, like Shaq and Chuck sometimes what they’re saying. ‘Cause they have a platform to kind of like protect us and, you know, do good. Um, obviously they’re supposed to criticize us, you know, we’re basketball players. But when it comes to personal stuff there’s a level of respect they should have. Even Shaq, like, when I was dealing with everything going on, I actually messaged him and he put it out. And I was like, alright.”
With Shaq, it hurt even more for Simmons because O’Neal and Simmons both went to LSU. According to Simmons, that has been a point of connection for Shaq and Simmons previously, but O’Neal wasn’t checking in on his Tiger brother and ensuring he was OK: “I DM’d him and I was like, ‘why are you saying this if you don’t even know the story?’ ‘Cause he always wants to say like yo, we’re LSU brothers, you’re my brother, all this, that. If you’re my LSU brother you would’ve reached out by now and it’s been months since I’ve been dealing with this. You ain’t reached out once and said like, ‘hey, you OK? Like, what’s going on.’”
Thybulle’s goal was to have the Sixers see for themselves the work he put in and the offensive improvements that he’s made. And it worked. “Matisse has been the most consistent player in Camden this summer, putting in countless hours on his game that will for sure pay dividends going forward,” said Daryl Morey, the Sixers president of basketball operations. “We are excited about his future.”
“I’m really proud of what I did,” Thybulle said of his offseason. “I’ve worked harder than I’ve worked. “And I had a meeting with [Sixers coach Doc Rivers] early this week and was telling him I feel more bought in than I’ve been before.” Don’t get it twisted. Thybulle didn’t lack effort in the past. “It’s just a different feeling you feel when you can see how much more of yourself when you are giving to your craft,” he said, “and to the team and surrendering to the work and living to whatever the outcome can be.”
After making the post that defended Udoka on Thursday night, Barnes said that he got a call from some that “had all the details – this [expletive] is deep.” “I try to report and talk with facts and honesty and I clearly have to say last night without knowing all the facts,” Barnes said in an Instagram post Friday. “I spoke on Ime Udoka’s defense. After finding out the facts after I spoke, I erased what I posted because this situation in Boston is deep, it’s messy, it’s 100 times uglier than any of us thought. That’s why I erased what I said.”
“Kobe said he was gonna set the tone to start the game and he said, ‘I’m running through Pau’s chest’,” LeBron James revealed in the documentary. “First play of the game I’m running through Pau Gasol.’ And we was like, ‘What?'” Dwyane Wade added. “He said, ‘First play of the game, I know what they’re gonna run.’ And he knew Pau was gonna be the last screen and he said ‘I’m running through him.'” As predicted, Bryant intentionally ran right through Gasol hard on Spain’s first possession and received a defensive foul. The entire US team started believing Kobe’s words instantly, James recalls. Gasol himself revealed that Kobe visited the Spanish national team in the Olympic Village before the game. The big man believes it was a part of the plan to soften both Pau and the entire Spanish squad.
