Matisse Thybulle Ineligible To Play In Toronto In Playoffs: "It sucks"

The Philadelphia 76ers will be missing their best perimeter defender when they travel to Toronto for Games 3 and 4 of their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors. Matisse Thybulle only received one shot of the Pfizer vaccine last year, making him officially not fully vaccinated, and ineligible to play in Canada. 

"I mean, it sucks," said Thybulle. "It's' not, it was not the outcome that I wanted. Yeah, it's always hard not to be available, whether you're injured or whatnot. It's hard to watch your guys go out there and fight without you but I believe in them without me just as much as I believe in them with me."

His explanation for not taking the second shot? “We grew up with Chinese medicine and neuropathic doctors. And just with that upbringing, coming into the situation, I felt like I had a solid foundation of medical resources that could serve me beyond what this vaccine could do more me.”

On ESPN Monday morning, Stephen A. Smith called Thybulle's choice "one of the dumbest things I have ever encountered in my career covering the NBA. You took it, but you didn't take the second shot?? That's why you're gonna miss the playoff games in Toronto?!"

Stephen A. Smith goes in on Matisse Thybulle for not being fully vaccinated (more specifically, taking one shot and not both): pic.twitter.com/CgWMjC2qHN

— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) April 11, 2022

It was just last week that the Sixers played in Toronto, sans Thybulle, and Pascal Siakam torched them with a 37-point triple-double. Thybulle's defense would have come in handy for that one.  

And just when James Harden thought he was free of teammates making themselves ineligible to play...

Photo Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports