The Philadelphia 76ers won't be without Kelly Oubre Jr. for much longer. The Sixers released a statement on the veteran forward's ongoing recovery from a broken rib he sustained in a hit-and-run, noting Oubre participated in Monday's shootaround and will be re-evaluated by team doctors at some point next week.
“Kelly Oubre Jr. continues to recover from a fractured rib. Yesterday, he participated in individual on-court workouts. He will be re-evaluated in approximately one week,” the team announced, per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sixers.
Oubre was struck by a vehicle in downtown Philadelphia the evening of November 11th while walking to his apartment, needing to be hospitalized and suffering a fractured rib as a result of the crash. Local law enforcement is still investigating the incident.
Kelly Oubre and the surging Sixers
Oubre had quietly emerged as one of the most pleasant individual surprises of 2023-24 before the stunning accident left him sidelined. Signed to a minimum one-year deal just more than a week before training camp, Oubre has proven a snug fit for what the new-look Sixers do on both sides of the ball under first-year head coach Nick Nurse. He's averaging 16.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game, shooting solid career-highs of 57.9% on twos and 37.8% from beyond the arc.
Oubre took over Philadelphia's fifth starting slot next to Tyrese Maxey, De'Anthony Melton, Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid after PJ Tucker was sent to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the James Harden trade. The Sixers went 5-0 with him as a starter, and have gone 3-2 since Oubre's been out. Though Nicolas Batum has absolutely thrived as Oubre's replacement, it stands to reason Philly will prioritize his longevity for the playoffs over the 34-year-old's regular season impact, eventually shifting him back to the bench.
But that definitely won't happen until Oubre is back on the floor and playing without restrictions. Either way, the Sixers' sudden glut of playable wings and forwards post-Harden trade has afforded Nurse much more lineup and stylistic flexibility around Embiid and the ever-ascending Maxey that will only pay bigger dividends as the 82-game grind wears on.
Expect Oubre to remain a key part of the equation in Philadelphia once he's fully healthy, taking on tough defensive assignments, igniting transition play and serving as an opportunistic multi-level scorer. Fortunately for the Sixers, not to mention Oubre and his family after such a frightening incident, the 27-year-old has clearly already taken major strides toward reaching that benchmark.
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