Australian News Today

Australia Cuts Ex-Husky Thybulle from Olympic Team

Australia Cuts Ex-Husky Thybulle from Olympic Team

Matisse Thybulle, former University of Washington standout and current Portland Trail Blazers swingman, reportedly was the final cut for the 12-player Australian men’s national basketball team preparing for the Paris Olympics — a move that wasn’t well received Down Under.

The 6-foot-5 Thybulle, 27, was permitted as a U.S.-born player to try out for the Austrailian team because he had lived in Sydney for seven years as a child before returning to the Northwest. 

His exclusion from the Olympics drew somewhat of an uproar among basketball media members across the county.

 Former Huskies guard Matisse Thybulle is shown at the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

Former Huskies guard Matisse Thybulle is shown at the 2019 NCAA Tournament. / Kevin Jairajj-USA TODAY Sports

“The exclusion of Matisse Thybulle from the Boomers team is staggering,” said Jack Powell, a digital producer in Melbourne. “It’s incomprehensible that he misses out. Aussies deserve an explanation for this decision.”

Said writer Ben Quagliata: “If this is legit, no Matisse is an actual joke.”

This past season, Thybulle started 19 of 65 games for the Trail Blazers and averaged 5.4 points per game and 2.1 rebounds while shooting a career-low 39.7 percent, with the latter a concern that likely cost him an Olympic roster spot.

Making the Australian team from the NBA were Miami Heat guard Patty Mills, Minnesota Timberwolves center Joe Ingles, Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey, New Orleans Pelicans wing Dyson Daniels, Dallas Mavericks wing Dante Exum, Charlotte Hornets wing Josh Green and Duop Reath, a Thybulle teammate with the Trail Blazers.

“Matisse is a real interesting one, he’s arguably the best defender on the squad — one of the best in the NBA,” Andrew Bogut, former Utah Utes and NBA center, said on the Gold Standard podcast. “I think the ups and downs of his shooting was a concern.”

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