2019 NBA Draft: Full Mock Draft 1.0, Atlanta Hawks Take Two Stars
By Chris Guest
#19. San Antonio Spurs – Matisse Thybulle
There might be no better fit between potential 2019 NBA Draft pick and team than Matisse Thybulle out of Washington and the San Antonio Spurs. A brilliant defensive player, Thybulle won the Naismith Defensive Player of the year in his senior season for the Washington Huskies.
A steals machine, Thybulle set the record for most steals in Pac 12 Conference history this season with 125, and he is also the all-time career steals leader in the conference with 330. Beyond those gaudy totals, Thybulle’s steal rate this season of 6.6 percent was tops in the country. Combine that with the 4th-highest block rate in the Pac 12 (8.1%), and you have the makings of a terrifying defensive player.
In our recent Atlanta Hawks Big Board, Thybulle was listed above players that will likely be drafted before him, and Thybulle would be a terrific fit on the defensive end for an Atlanta Hawks team that needs all the help it can get papering over the defensive deficiencies of its primary ballhandler, Trae Young.
For the Spurs, Thybulle gets to spend at least one season (hopefully) with one of the greatest defensive coaches in NBA history in Gregg Popovich, and he will also join a stacked defensive core of Dejounte Murray and Derrick White.
Though Thybulle did not crack 10 points per game in scoring, he will likely only be tasked with spot-up shooting – as he will be a defensive specialist at the NBA level.