What a difference a year makes.
Last summer, Kelly Oubre, Jr. was forced to take a minimum deal with the Sixers because the veteran wing did not have the market he hoped for. A little over a week ago, in the wee hours at the start of free agency, he agreed to terms with the team on a two-year, $16.3 million deal.
Were there other offers after a strong 2023-24 campaign with the Sixers? Of course. But Oubre made the decision to return and build upon his success.
“Well, there were definitely options on the table,” Oubre said via Zoom at the Sixers practice facility Tuesday, “options that are closer to the ballpark of where I’m working toward getting to. But at the end of the day, man, it’s all about situations, it’s all about fit, it’s all about the people that I’m working with and I’m working for.”
Oubre is likely to slot into an extremely talented starting group. The headliners will be Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and newcomer Paul George, but Oubre and Caleb Martin will help make that unit formidable. Plus, new additions like Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon will provide depth.
While many have talked about the Sixers’ new “Big 3” and how it stacks up to other iterations around the league, Oubre looks at the team more holistically.
“They have big names and they’re All-Stars and things like that,” he said. “But I think we’ve got like a Big 12, Big 15. I don’t do Big 3s because you exclude me, and I don’t like that. [Laughs.] But at the end of the day, they’re all great players and we all know what each of them brings to the table. At the end of the day, it’s about how we all mesh together. … The sky’s the limit, man.”
The Sixers still have work to do to get to a “Big 15.” They have 10 players either officially under contract or in agreement to terms.
While the team will mostly have to operate with veteran minimum deals the rest of the way, that doesn’t mean they can’t find talent. Hell, they found Oubre.
And he rewarded the organization by bringing what Daryl Morey described as “a breath of fresh air.” It was almost jarring to see a player with Oubre’s elite athleticism play for the Sixers. That type of guy has always seemed to elude the front office during the Embiid era.
Oubre plays with reckless abandon, going to the rim with ferocity, sticking his nose in there defensively to fight through screens, and crashing the boards with a full head of steam. While he’s never been a consistent three-point shooter, there were signs of improvement. He closed the regular season shooting well, then made 39.1% of his threes in six postseason games.
“I would say confidence and shot selection. That’s two of the biggest things for me,” Oubre said. “Just shooting the right ones, and not just shooting ones because I think that every shot I shoot is going to go in. I’m sure all people feel that way, but it doesn’t go that way, obviously. …
“I know I can shoot the ball. I have been dealing with some shoulder things the past couple years. Minor stuff, but it has affected me with my jump shot and things like that in training. But I feel 100 percent healthy now and ready to get to work and make shots.”
Oubre finished as the Sixers’ fourth-leading scorer in the regular season and third-leading scorer in the playoffs. His lightning quick first step and fearlessness driving to the rim took pressure off Embiid and Maxey at times. Both All-Stars embraced him in the locker room as well.
Oubre was quick to credit head coach Nick Nurse often last season and continued to do so Tuesday. After Oubre had bounced around the league so much, it’s clear he valued his relationship with Nurse and how the Sixers as a franchise made him feel.
After the Sixers lost Game 6 against the Knicks, Oubre said he simply wanted to go somewhere he was “loved.” That appears to be the case in Philly.
“A great organization,” Oubre said. “An organization that cares about the players, that cares about winning, that cares about the city. Everything is tied in pretty much to where the love of the game is. It’s the City of Brotherly Love. It’s a city where they love sports and they love basketball, and just the fans helped me fall in love with it.”
Now, Oubre is back and he’s excited about what’s next.
“I want to … I don’t want to say finish what I started, because I don’t plan on being done,” he said. “This is a step toward where I want to be at — signing a more long-term deal — but this was the place where I felt comfortable, and I felt safe and happy. And I fell in love with the game of basketball here, so why would I go anywhere else?”