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76ers' Matisse Thybulle 'Ineligible to Play' for Game vs. Raptors in Toronto
April 6, 2022
Philadelphia 76ers guard Matisse Thybulle is listed as "ineligible to play" for Thursday's game against the Toronto Raptors in Toronto.
While the Sixers would not confirm Thybulle's vaccination status to Noah Levick of NBC Sports, his ineligibility could be related to a refusal to undergo COVID-19 vaccination. Canada requires visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the country.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported last week that the Sixers declined to confirm they were fully vaccinated as a team.
The Sixers are currently the No. 4 seed in the East and would play the Raptors in Round 1 if the season ended today. If Thybulle is unvaccinated, he would be ineligible for Games 3, 4 and 6, leaving the team without its best perimeter defender.
Thybulle has been placed into health and safety protocols twice this season. He previously expressed his frustration with the NBA's COVID-19 policies after being forced to sit out in January due to inconclusive test results.
“Very frustrating,” Thybulle told reporters. “Especially just as the rule changes come and go at a whim, it feels like it gets confusing. Like I said, a recently recovered player to get tested so soon and then the concern would be false positives and then like to draw positives and inconclusive and have to sit down for almost a week is a little frustrating.”
Thybulle is averaging 5.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game this season. Danny Green should see additional work in the rotation with Thybulle out of the lineup.
