Matisse Thybulle’s agent is going full-blown Team Petty mode.
After the Philadelphia 76ers rookie was left off the roster for this year’s Rising Stars Challenge, agent Eric Goodwin released a statement throwing shade at the assistant coaches who were responsible for the voting.
“Matisse plays to win,” said Goodwin, per Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports. “He does what his team needs of him. He’s happy for every player that made the Rising Stars game. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say he was pretty disappointed.
“He’s one of the league’s top defenders and is amongst the league leaders in steals and blocks — from the guard position,” Goodwin continued. “Sad reminder that defense no longer has substance in the new NBA. Shame on the league’s ASSistant coaches.”
The 22-year-old Thybulle is somewhat limited offensively with 4.9 points per game on 38.6 percent shooting. But his defensive numbers (1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks in only 20.1 minutes per game) are very impressive, and he has quickly become one of Philadelphia’s more irreplaceable players.
Thybulle was far from the only snub from All-Star festivities, but the fact that he can dominate an entire end of the floor should count for something.
