While Tyrese Maxey emerges as a star and Joel Embiid begins to find his footing, the Philadelphia 76ers have gotten some major production out of new addition Kelly Oubre Jr.

Oubre has been an important contributor off the Sixers' bench, scoring 27 points in the season opener and 18 in their first win against the Toronto Raptors. Despite going 5-6 from deep the first game and 0-6 in the second, he has been important for Philly as a team defender and scorer from close range. Nurse said in his postgame media availability that he's still getting familiar with Oubre but that he likes what he's seeing so far.

“He's kind of like our most dynamic wing player. We got a bunch of wing guys but he's the most, like, energetic and athletic at the same time,” Nurse said. “I think my goals for him right now would be just to continue to learn the defense and become really solid because he's got the kind of aggression and the want to play it — he likes to be aggressive. Just continuing to build that and making it be solid.”

Previously, Nurse recognized that Oubre has the physical wherewithal to defend and that the key for him would be to gain a better understanding of how to apply it. A long, wiry wing that has good speed and impressive explosiveness, Oubre is a good change of pace from the Sixers' bigger forwards like Tobias Harris and P.J. Tucker and more traditional 3-and-D players like Danny Green and Danuel House Jr.

On the other end, Nurse is focusing on growing Oubre's complementary offensive skills. He pointed out that, twice in the fourth quarter in the win over the Toronto Raptors, he did an excellent job of getting to an open space where Embiid could dish it and score easily. The Sixers' offense is bound to get Oubre good looks if he keeps moving and makes quick decisions.

“Obviously, the couple of great cuts tonight — he does that probably better than anybody on our team — and he's got to be a decent threat from the three-ball, too,” Nurse said. “I mean, everybody we have out there has got to be able to at least throw some in when you got Joel Embiid.”

There was heavy skepticism that Oubre, a score-first player used to having the ball in his hands a lot, could find a way to be an impactful player in Philly. But so far, he has played very well in a role that not many people thought he would embrace. He previously said that rather than fit in, he wanted to stand out with the Sixers. Through two games, he has stood out by how well he fits in.