CAMDEN, N.J. — Kelly Oubre Jr. never wanted to leave the Philadelphia 76ers.
“This was a place where I felt comfortable and I felt safe and happy and I fell in love with the game of basketball here,” Oubre said, “so why would I go anywhere else?”
After signing a minimum contract late last offseason, Oubre became a favorite amongst the fans and the organization for his tenacity and confident, uplifting attitude. He proved he could be a part of a winning team after spending several years posting numbers on losing squads. 76ers of basketball operations Daryl Morey called him a “breath of fresh air” and, based on the timing of Oubre's dea, made it a priority to bring him back.
“Kelly was one of our most important contributors last season, bringing physicality, energy, and toughness to the table on a nightly basis,” Morey said in the announcement of Oubre's new contract. “We’re excited to have him back and believe he’ll play a key role in our pursuit of a championship.”
Oubre said it usually takes two or three years to become comfortable on a team. But with the Sixers, he felt at home in less than a full season. Despite some bumps in the road along the way, none bigger than he was hit by a car and missed nearly a month, Oubre quickly became enamored with the organization that allowed him to bet on himself.
Although his new two-year, $16 million deal isn’t groundbreaking, it's a massive step up from the minimum deal he took last September. Knowing so early in the offseason where he’ll be playing puts his mind at ease.
“Well, there were definitely options on the table,” Oubre said of his 2024 free agency, “and options that are closer to the ballpark of where I've been working towards getting to. But at the end of the day, man, it's all about situations. It's all about fit. It's about the people that I'm working with and I'm working for.”
The 76ers asked a lot of Oubre last season. He was one of their primary defenders and often had to be the third source of scoring depending on how well Tobias Harris was playing on any particular night. Now with Paul George and Caleb Martin, the Sixers' dependence on Oubre can be more fitting for a typical role player.
Oubre pointed to Martin as someone he's excited to team up with. He called himself “a triplet” with Caleb and his twin brother Cody, who he played with on the Charlotte Hornets, and recalled when the twins beat him in the high school national tournament. Philly's 2024-25 squad features some newcomers in Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon, Jared McCain, and Adem Bona along with some familiar faces in Kyle Lowry, KJ Martin, and Ricky Council IV.
When asked about the 76ers' new Big 3 of Embiid, Maxey and George, Oubre responded that Philly actually has “a Big 12, Big 15.” He joked that he didn’t like the highlighting of the All-Star trio because it excluded him.
“At the end of the day, all great players, man. We all know what each of them brings to the table,” Oubre said. “But at the end of the day, it's about how we all mesh together. I have to make them look good and I hope that we can all just do the same for each other. But the sky's the limit, man. The sky's the limit and we'll be ready to continue to attack from all angles.”
Oubre's riff about the Big Number of players raises a point that a highly talented trio isn’t enough to truly contend for the championship. A trio of stars is great but doesn’t mean as much if the players around them are too unreliable. A Big 3 can only go as high as the remaining 12 will allow them. Of those 12 for the Sixers, Oubre is going to be one of the most important.
Kelly Oubre Jr. excited to team up with Paul George on 76ers
Oubre and George have had their share of incidents over the years where one player gets the best of the other — a nasty crossover, a posterizing dunk, a swatted shot — and then lets the other know. Nothing followed in each incident but this has happened enough times to spark inquiries about whether they hold any animosity toward one another. But Oubre dispelled any rumblings about beef right away.
“Obviously, everybody wants to talk about a beef or whatever. There's never been a beef. It's just been two competitors who respect each other on the court and we just try to go at it really hard,” Oubre said. “So now that we're on the same team, we can do that to other people. So, I'm excited.”
George instantly makes the Sixers much more dangerous even at age 34. He has a lot to offer Philly in terms of both production on the court and lessons and tips to help his teammates improve. Oubre sounds like he’ll be one of George's main pupils from the jump.
“I'm really excited. I've always studied this game. I've always been a fan from afar,” Oubre said. “To be able to get bits and pieces and nuggets from him, learn his game a little bit, and inspire him. I think we offer different things but we both can feed and learn off of each other. I'm really excited, man, to learn from him and help him do his thing and with the rest of his career that he has left.”
On his show, Podcast P, George echoed many of the same sentiments Oubre did. He said that he’s looking forward to helping Oubre grow his game and that he's “one of those players I look forward to competing against.”
Oubre's ability to attack the paint should be unlocked even more with the additional spacing George will provide. Being the worst three-point shooter in the expected starting lineup (him, Caleb Martin, and the three stars) means he will have to be more productive in other areas. Among the ways he's looking to improve from last season is to “get my percentages up” and “polish my game up,” explaining the two biggest factors in what could be his next step forward.
“I would say confidence and shot selection, that's two of the biggest things for me,” he explained. “Just shooting the right ones and not just shooting ones. I think every shot that I shoot is gonna go in because I'm sure all hoops feel that way — but it doesn't go that way, obviously. But, yeah, just shot selection and staying disciplined and focusing on shooting the right shots.”
Oubre disclosed that he had been dealing with minor shoulder issues over the past few seasons. Although they didn’t harm his play, the 76ers wing said that he's now totally healthy.
Regardless of what role he's tasked with, the 2024-25 season could be a big one for Kelly Oubre Jr. With a clean bill of health and a profound sense of security in his team, he has a clear runway at his disposal to get better and make himself a more productive player for the 76ers.
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