-Matisse, thank you so much for coming on the show.
Nice to meet you through Zoom,
but I'm a big fan of you, but I'm also a fan
of what you've been doing while you're in the bubble.
I want to go back, if you don't mind, to March.
NBA suspends the season.
Where are you, what goes through your mind,
and what were you thinking about?
-Yeah, it was -- It's crazy 'cause, for me,
like, just being in the NBA is crazy.
I'm just trying to figure it out.
And then as I think I'm hitting, like, a groove
and finding a routine, like, everything is shut down.
And to have this be my life and kind of my new normal
and then just to be put on hold
in a way that no one's ever seen before is confusing.
And it left me and a lot of guys in this limbo
of just trying to figure out what's going to happen,
what's coming next, or what do we do now.
-Yeah. -It's been -- It was weird.
-What did you think first when you heard about the bubble?
-The -- I mean, it sounded crazy.
I mean, it is crazy, like just the fact that we're even here.
But when I first heard it, I'm like,
"Well, there's no way they can do that, right?"
-And then what -- what sold you?
Like, "Okay, they really have thought this out."
Was there a moment?
-Yeah. For me, it was a couple things.
So, we started -- we started doing workouts back in Philly
with our -- at our team practice facility.
And that was, like, a scaled-down version
of kind of what we're doing here.
And I felt pretty good about that.
And then they also sent out this manual, I guess,
like, this -- of what they're going to be doing.
It was like over a hundred pages
of the health protocols and everything.
And I was like -- I mean, I didn't read it,
but I definitely saw that if they're going to put
that much into... to send to players,
I was like, "Okay, they definitely put some..."
-It's almost like the Apple terms and conditions.
You're like, "Yeah, I accept."
-Yeah. [ Laughs ] -"I'm not gonna read it."
Yeah. Please.
Well, the reason why I wanted to have you on --
because you've been documenting everything
and putting it online.
I think it's brilliant.
And you're filming everything and editing it yourself,
and it sounds and looks great.
Have you done this before?
Are you -- Have you made videos?
-Kind of. My friends and I, like --
You know, you go on a little road trip
or you go hang out or something.
I would shoot some stuff, but it was never something
I'd put out because, I mean, as you know,
it's kind of hard to put yourself out there like this.
And for me, like, having not --
I mean, in college and in high school,
having not really been a big -- a well-known person
or, like, a well-known basketball player,
that was still very, very weird to me.
And I would make these videos we'd share amongst each other,
and then that was kind of it, but now that I'm here --
And, like, right before we left,
I was going back and forth with my friends like,
"This is an amazing opportunity, a historical moment,
and I want to capture it."
And I know what to do because, like,
we've been doing this, we've messing around with it before.
And, yeah, so we went back and forth a lot
and then, you know, "Just do it."
I was like, "Yeah, might as well."
Like, get out of my comfort zone a little bit,
put myself out there, and hopefully some people enjoy it.
-Good for you, 'cause it's worked.
I also saw that you solved a Rubik's Cube
in like, I don't know, 90 seconds
or some crazy thing that I've seen before, like, online.
But how did you learn how to do that?
Was that something you used to do in high school or...?
-I learned because in -- when I was in college,
it was either, like, my sophomore or junior year.
I was at the gym over the summer with my dad,
and there was this little kid playing with a Rubik's Cube.
And I went up to him. He was probably like 12.
I was like, "There's no way you can solve this thing."
And he seemed like a little kid. And he's like,
"Oh, I can. I can. I swear. Get out your timer."
Said, "Okay, here we go."
So, I hit start,
and this kid just starts going crazy with the thing.
And in 35 seconds, he had solved it.
I was like, "Wow. Okay."
Like, it was really, really cool.
And for me, I'm like, "If this, like, 12-year-old kid
can figure out how to solve it in 30 seconds..."
I -- At the time, I was probably 21.
I'm like, "I can at least get it done to some degree.
I don't care how long it takes."
So, like, after that... wanted a Rubik's Cube
and then just, like, sat on YouTube and studied,
and now it's just, like, a party trick, I guess.
-Also, if people watching our show
have not seen your videos, they should.
They're so interesting.
But one thing is that you didn't really hold back
on conversations you're having with your team,
even about racial inequality
and, like, important conversations.
Were you nervous to put that out there
or talk about that or document that?
-Yeah, I mean, I was --
For all of it, for documenting it,
just 'cause a lot of it was the opinion of other people,
and, like, that's a very intimate thing to share
on someone else's behalf.
So, for me, it was -- it was nerve-racking to document
and also just to -- Through editing it,
I wanted to put these guys who are being vulnerable
and open and sharing and discussing these topics
in the best light possible.
And, I mean, I hope I did them justice,
but I was really, really happy
that they were willing to share that with me
so I could share it with, I mean, the world.
-It was great they did that,
and it keeps the conversation going.
And, you know -- And I just think
it was really cool that you did that.
And I saw that the players get to choose different words
or phrases on their jersey, and you chose "vote."
-Yeah.
-Why is that important to you?
-Yeah, that's -- that's one that is very --
hits very close to home just 'cause
it's really important to my family.
And my dad -- my dad grew up in Haiti,
so essentially he's --
To grow up with immigrant parents,
like, they have a different perspective
because they come from somewhere outside of the US,
where we at times take a lot of what we have here for granted.
And so for him to come from somewhere where their leader
was a dictator, not a president,
he really -- my dad puts a lot of value on the vote
'cause he knows what it's like to not have a voice.
And to live in a country
where we have the opportunity to have a voice and be heard
and make change with it is --
I mean, it's an opportunity that you really --
you can't take for granted.
And I think that it's been amazing
that I have the opportunity as a basketball player
to spread this message on my jersey,
through my videos, with you,
and then also just that we have as a country,
and even with my generation,
are making a huge effort to make it a thing
that we're excited about and passionate about
and take seriously because it is something serious
and it isn't something we should take for granted.
And I hope that in this next election
that we have a much better turnout
than we did four years ago.
-I think we will. I know you have a game tonight.
Matisse, go out there and make more history tonight, buddy.
Thank you so much for doing our show.
I appreciate it. -Thank you for having me.
-Matisse Thybulle, everybody. Check out Matisse's YouTube page
for more episodes of "Welcome to the Bubble."