This COVID-19 summer must-watch show is … an NBA rookie YouTube page?

Even if you do not like sports, the NBA bubble in Orlando was a fascinating epidemiological experiment: if you had seemingly infinite resources available and every participant was engaged in voting to follow protocols based on our best understanding of an emerging viral pandemic , would you be able to construct a truly safe environment? Remember, US government, as the answer has been so far, “Yes.” As of August 19, the NBA has officially had zero new COVID-19 infections to report on the league’s five-week resumption. And that’s with the league having to use necessary quarantine protocols for players who leave and travel unexpectedly (what have they done for everything from household cases to, um, lemon-pepper chicken wings?).

Traditional media have been invited for a while to document this unusual playoff season, and the NBA has relied heavily on Zoom access to players for other reporters. Of course, Twitter has also created an aggregator account that will bring you all the social media for beer-chugging you desire. But almost all of these glimpses into bubble life remain limited – the league has shifted access areas for pressure on a cent, and player interviews have time constraints (and often PR staff on the line to step in when things get on unwanted ground).

All of this makes keeping Philadelphia 76ers from Matisse Thybulle’s ongoing video diary remarkable and essential. I’ve never been one in YouTube series as personalities, but his eight-episode-and-count of Welcome to The Bubble did not miss the viewing experience of the summer.

Thybulle is just a kid by league standards – a rookie who is favored by defensive online headers, largely otherwise unknown – so his approach misses the point of a superstar starting a production house as the time-honored slug of a veteran who can self-sensor too much. Instead, he does what any of us can do during an unusual experience: Thybulle brings his Canon EOS 6D Mark II with him everywhere he goes as he navigates this strange new world, the thing keeps rolling and then editing and publishing 10-minute diaries time.

In early videos, Thybulle demystifies bubble policy and experiences as much as any traditional media. Even if players will eventually get in touch in the beginning and often, Welcome to The Bubble shows that they should stay apart in chairs with fixed position during breaks at the gym. Disney Park wristbands that normally allow FastPass to ride on Space Mountain instead of helping a player’s health data travel smoothly with them for immediate clearance. And Thybulle walks the audience through this process: after arriving at the bubble and quarantine in their rooms until a continuous number of COVID-19 tests have been passed, players must then take their temperature every day and go to a ballroom regularly. for nose lashes. All that medical context lives in an app (developed with the help of the NBA, just like that new detective COVID-19), which is synchronized to the wristband that gives healthy players access to various parts of Disney -sports complex.

While such granular NBA regulations make those in Orlando never forget the extraordinary circumstances, these young men are away from their families and live a long time among their peers. It can kinda, sorta be fun summer camp adults during downtime. Thybulle brings spectators charming for this ride as well. We see world-class athletes enjoying some very basic activities – golf, fishing, corn-hole – for the first time, and fortunately Thybulle and his teammates are not afraid to appear as amusing amateurs in front of the camera (despite having enough ammunition to rip each other apart).

Perhaps most interesting of all for this particular moment, Thybulle continues to press on record, as he and his 76ers teammates have some real conversations about the elephant in the room: race, and specifically how NBA players shine this high could use to spark real change in the aftermath of the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other victims of police violence. At press conferences and during televised games, NBA stars were quite benevolent and strategic about how to use their time with the media to pursue messages about Black Lives Matter or about certain incidents (e.g., Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul, for example, wrote The Name of Breonna Taylor on his shoes play in and play out). Mar Welcome to the bubbles let us dwell on the up-and-coming conversations that have taken place behind the scenes about why this work is important and which precise actions and strategies can achieve the best results. The 76ers talk about trying to turn their arena into a polling station in the Atlanta Hawks, about placing local ownership of Black businesses if possible, and about emphasizing education as the first step toward building a more equitable society.

With so much attention on the NBA bubble in general, Thybulle’s small pet project blew up indefinitely. In later episodes, he talks to the camera about preparing for an interview with the New York Times or about making an appearance. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, for instance. Sixers PR may not be involved here either, as sleek intro graphics are starting to appear and so are well-edited feature films.

But make no mistake – Thybulle remains the one doing the work (he even shows his editing driver in what looks like iMovie). The 76 media team actually profiled the rookie for his photography restriction last fall, and Thybulle told the New York Times that it’s something he’s been doing for years (his mother let him play with her point-and-shoot camera as a child). That even with a little extra polish, Thybulle’s personality, perspective and sensibilities are still firmly at the center of Welcome to The Bubble. In the last episode, he responds to fanmail that the series has generated, takes viewers into the players’ restaurant, and still finds it time to annoy teammate Kyle O’Quinn before grabbing some soft storage. Based on the game recordings added at the end of that one, most of the events took place around August 14 – before the playoffs that weekend officially began.

That’s a good thing, because it means maybe the world can enjoy an episode like two more of Welcome to The Bubble before things are said and done. In an effort to keep the bubble as safe as possible, per NBA protocol teams must leave the building within 24 hours of being officially eliminated from the season. And in the 76ers’ first round with the Boston Celtics, Thybulle’s currently beats 0-3 in a best of seven series with Game 4 tipping today (1p ET). By the time you read this, Thybulle was able to pack up his small hotel room and camera and prepare her on foot.

That’s a shame, because there’s probably so much more to see. When the second round of playoffs comes round, for example, friends and family will be allowed to enter the bubble, which increases the complexity of the NBA’s epidemiological experiment. And because the United States is grappling with the upcoming challenge of the fall, which has inevitably collaborated with COVID-19 – starting schools again, holding elections, trying to start other sports like the NFL or college football, and so on. – it would be fascinating to hear the talks in this isolated, hitherto pandemic-free environment. At least, sticking to the ride behind the scenes of a playoff run, unlike any other the NBA has ever seen (and perhaps would ever see) would be the greatest time fans can ask.

So, Boston Celtics, if you do not care, maybe give the 76ers a few more days for the fun of the rest of us? The premiere of HBOs Lovecraft Country was enjoyable, but it would be great to get at least one season 10 or 12 episode for this summer’s unexpected show.

Image listing by Joe Murphy / NBAE via Getty Images