While Kyrie Irving has been the poster boy for unvaccinated players in the NBA, resulting in the mercurial star sitting out for more than half the season, Boomers star Matisse Thybulle has flown under the radar.
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Until now.
Thybulle was listed by the 76ers as “ineligible to play” ahead of the team’s game against the Raptors in Toronto on Friday (AEST).
The 25-year-old is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and has been forced to miss the game against the Raptors because Canada implemented a ruling that all players be fully vaccinated in order to play in the country, with the NBA also adjusting their rules requiring all players to be fully vaccinated in order to cross the border.
The Boomer faces a $41,000 fine and his vaccination status could have more serious implications for his team.
If the Eastern Conference standings remain the same, the match in Canada serves as a prelude with the Sixers and Raptors set to face against each other in the first round of the playoffs.
If that happens, Thybulle will be ruled out of all the games played in Canada, leaving a hole in the side due to his defensive capabilities.
Thybulle was last season selected on the NBA All-Defensive second team and has flourished this year, averaging 1.1 steals and 1.8 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game.
That stat puts him in elite company, with only seven other players in the NBA averaging at least one steal and block per game, however all of them spend more time on the court than Thybulle.
The Philadelphia star emerged gained popularity during the Boomers’ bronze medal-winning campaign at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
Thybulle holds dual citizenship with Australia and the United States and played his first game for the Boomers, just a few weeks before the Tokyo Olympics.
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