Ben Simmons, Matisse Thybulle to play for Team Australia in Olympics

Philadelphia 76ers fans will be keeping their eyes on Team Australia in the next Olympics with both Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle joining the roster.

The Philadelphia 76ers have had a tremendous season so far. They’re currently two games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and their offseason tweaking has worked out splendidly. Joel Embiid is playing like an MVP with a bit more space around him, Tyrese Maxey has been a revelation and Seth Curry and Danny Green are both filling it up from the outside.

The only honor the 76ers are really concerned with is a title but they did receive some cool news this week with the announcement that Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle were both chose from Team Australia’s roster for the upcoming Olympic Games.

Who else will join Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle on Team Australia?

Team Australia will feature several other current NBA players, including Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, Thon Maker, Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova and Dante Exum. It’s a group that may be light on elite scorers but they have very interesting mix of defensive specialists and versatile, match-up busting playmakers.

The Australian men’s basketball team has never won an Olympic medal but they’ve finished fourth in four of the last eight Olympic games, including 2016 in Rio. Patty Mills led that 2016 team in scoring, at 21.3 points per game, and Baynes, Ingles and Dellavedova all played key roles as well. This will be the first Olympic appearance for both Simmons and Thybulle.

These Olympic Games, to be held in Tokyo, were delayed last summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are scheduled to begin near the end of July 2021, but there are ongoing rumors that they may again be delayed or rescheduled because of a pandemic that has yet to meaningfully subside.