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Sixers’ Matisse Thybulle offers tribute to his late mother on ‘Good Morning America'

Matisse also wore No. 4 at Eastside Catholic School near Seattle and at the University of Washington, because it was Elizabeth’s favorite number. He wears No. 22, for 2+2, for the Sixers because the No. 4 (Dolph Schayes) is retired.

The Sixers' Matisse Thybulle did a special tribute to his late mother, Elizabeth, on Good Morning America.
The Sixers' Matisse Thybulle did a special tribute to his late mother, Elizabeth, on Good Morning America.Read moreSTEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer

To know Matisse Thybulle is to basically have known his late mother, Elizabeth.

The 76ers rookie has his mother’s dry sense of humor. He’s also very logical and analyzes everything before making a decision, like she did. People also gravitate to him as they did Elizabeth. And he has followed in her footsteps by giving to the less fortunate.

Matisse wore No. 4 at Eastside Catholic School near Seattle and at the University of Washington, because it was Elizabeth’s favorite number. He wears No. 22 for 2+2 for the Sixers because No. 4 (Dolph Schayes) is retired.

The shooting guard did a special tribute to Elizabeth on Good Morning America on Tuesday. He drew a No. 4 in the window to the left of him during the interview from his Florida hotel room patio.

Elizabeth died Feb. 2, 2015, after a two-year fight with leukemia.

Matisse was on GMA to discuss his video log, “Welcome To The Bubble,” and life in the NBA setup at Disney World. The documentary series provides an inside look at his time there during the NBA restart.

Twenty-two of the league’s 30 teams qualified for the restart and arrived in Reunion, Fla., near Otlando, earlier this month to start training camp ahead of the eight seeding games to determine the final standings. There’s potential for a playoff play-in series, followed by the standard four-round playoff.

The Sixers will play the first of three exhibitions Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Then they will begin their seeding games Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers.