The Philadelphia 76ers hot start to the 2023-24 season continued on Friday night with a comeback victory over the Detroit Pistons. After falling behind by as many as 16 points early in the game, the Sixers rallied for a 114-106 victory, which is their seventh straight win after opening the year with a one-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. While the stats may not show it, Kelly Oubre Jr. was vital to this win for Philly.

After getting signed by the 76ers less than a month before the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Oubre has had a great start to the year with his new squad (16.3 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 0.6 APG, 50 FG%, 37.8 3P%). Oubre wasn't great on offense in this game (8 PTS, 8 REB, 1 AST, 3-9 FGM), but he got switched onto guarding Cade Cunningham after his hot start, and slowed down the star guard to help the Sixers climb back into this game.

“That’s what I bring to the game. That’s my bread and butter, so just trying to impact the game, and Cade definitely got off to a good start. I started on Ausar [Thompson], but Coach made that change to start the second half. Me guarding Cade and just wanted to pick him up full court, kind of make him uncomfortable a little bit because he’s such a talented player.” – Kelly Oubre Jr., The Philadelphia Inquirer

Kelly Oubre Jr. continues to make a big impact with the Sixers

Philadelphia 76ers star Kelly Oubre Jr. in front of the Wells Fargo Center.

Oubre has been a surprisingly helpful contributor for the Sixers to open the season, which not many folks could have expected given how he was without a team just weeks before the start of the season. Oubre has been a lethal secondary scorer for Philly behind Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and his defensive versatility is also proving to be a huge help as well.

Sure enough, Cunningham cooled right off when Oubre was switched onto him, and that resulted in a quick turnaround for Philadelphia to help them push their win streak to seven games. Oubre's continued strong play is precisely what the Sixers want to keep seeing from him, and he will look to keep up the momentum with his new squad on Sunday when they take on the Indiana Pacers.