CAMDEN, N.J. — Kelly Oubre Jr.'s return to the court for the Philadelphia 76ers is almost here. After missing 11 games with a rib fracture he sustained in a hit-and-run, the Sixers wing has worked through his rehab process and is on track to play again very soon.

“I'm excited,” Oubre said after the Sixers' practice on Monday afternoon, his first time speaking to the media since the incident. “Finally up out the house, on my feet, running around doing what I love, so I'm really happy now.”

Oubre and head coach Nick Nurse expressed confidence that he will be cleared to play the Sixers' next game on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards. The return matches up with the most recently reported timeline. Oubre worked his way up during his rehab, which he called “slow and steady,” from riding an exercise bike to light cardio/basketball work to a full return to practice.

The Sixers have dealt with a glut of recent absences that exacerbated Oubre being sidelined, namely those of wings Nicolas Batum and Danuel House Jr., plus bench guard Jaden Springer. Oubre said he has not yet talked to Nurse about how he will be reimplemented but Nurse explained that the plan is partially dependent on who will be available to play in the nation's capital on Wednesday.

“I'll probably fire him right back in there. Let me see what it looks like getting to Wednesday. I think that that could matter if there's other guys in or out,” Nurse said. “But I would imagine, if everybody's healthy, he's coming off the bench and he's coming probably pretty early. We're gonna try to fire him right back in there.” 

Nurse acknowledged that Oubre still has to get back up to speed with his in-game conditioning, which could lead to shorter stints or a limit on his overall playing time. He said that those details will be hammered out following the Sixers' pre-game shootaround on Wednesday morning.

The Sixers have missed Oubre's presence on the court, particularly as a supplementary scorer to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Through the first eight games of the season, the 6-foot-7 wing averaged 16.3 points per game while shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from deep. He showed value as a defender and looked comfortable starting and coming off the bench.

As Oubre recovered, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported details about the situation that led to speculation that Oubre's injury stemmed from something other than getting hit by a car. Among the details getting the most attention were that police did not have footage of the crash, which was originally said to be in a busy intersection in Center City Philadelphia, and that Oubre's recollection of the incident to law enforcement may not have been totally accurate.

Baseless conjectures of what happened – many of which were fueled by now-deleted posts from the “PhillyCrimeUpdate” Twitter/X account — included that Oubre sustained the injuries from a fight and used the car collision as a cover-up story. When pressed about the report, Nurse insisted that he believed Oubre “at his word.”

In his post-practice media availability, Oubre declined to provide specific details (aside from confirming he did suffer a fractured rib), explaining that he had already spoken to the police, whose investigation is ongoing.

“This was and is a very traumatic situation for me and my family,” Oubre responded to a follow-up question about the online conspiracies. “I just wish that my life wasn't like The Truman Show where everybody could kind of watch it and have their own opinion about my life. This is very hard for us to have to deal with and me to miss being on the court, which keeps me sane.

“A lot of people were very inconsiderate and insensitive to try to worry about video cameras and s**t about something that happened with my life and was very detrimental to me and missing time in my job,” Oubre continued. “So, yeah, I'm just really blessed that it wasn't worse than what it is and that I'm able to come back to work and smile and walk and talk and breathe. So, yeah, that's just what I have to say about the conspiracy theorists — and I love 'em too. Like, I sit there on my downtime and look at 'em. But not with my life, bro. It's just serious.”

Oubre received an outpouring of support from teammates throughout the process. After Maxey scored a career-high 50 points, he dedicated the game to Oubre, which brought out waterworks from the injured forward. Oubre said that the love he got from coaches, teammates and fans nearly brought him to tears, too.

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“That felt amazing, man,” Oubre said of the shoutout from Maxey. “I had to go upstairs real quick away from my wife and shed a little tear for that because I know how hard he works, man. And for that situation to happen and him to go out and be so focused on getting us the win and having the best game of his career, I was just blessed to see him perform well.”

Initially after sustaining his injuries, Oubre said that he was “just on the couch kicking it, for real” and passed the time by playing guitar, hanging out with his kids and watching television shows like One Piece. He recalled a visit from Nurse where he spent time playing with his daughter.

Oubre is proud of the grit the Sixers showed in the games he missed. Now, he's ready to get back on the court, his sanctuary that he said gives him “a sense of, I guess, identity.”

“One thing about me, man, I manifest healing in my mind all day 'cause I'm an athlete, so something is always hurting,” Oubre said. “But, yeah, I know I heal fast but obviously I didn't have a timetable on anything. Obviously the medical staff, I let them do their job 'cause I trust them with my body. And, yeah, I just kind of took it day by day. But we here now.”