When the Philadelphia 76ers started last season, many fans had not guessed just how impactful a 28-year-old, shoot-first wing would be. Kelly Oubre Jr. was a walking bucket for the Sixers, often at the expense of efficiency and defensive effort, for the majority of his NBA career up until last season. Most NBA fans knew that the man known as Tsumami Papi loved to score.
With the Hornets, he averaged a career-high 20.3 points a game for a 27-win team that was desperate for scoring. Despite receiving very little attention on the open market, Oubre joined the Sixers on a veteran minimum contract and ended up being one of the most impactful players on the Sixers last season. He was so integral that he forced himself into the Sixers’s future plans, securing a two-year, 16.3 million dollar contract with a player option next season.
While there has been a lot of attention on the Sixers’s offseason this summer, especially with Paul George joining the team, Oubre’s return should not be overlooked. During the regular season, he finished as the 4th leading scorer on the Sixers and came ready to play right out of the gate on fire for the 76ers, scoring 27 points in the Sixers’s first game of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Oubre continued with his strong start, scoring 20+ points in 3 of the Sixers’ first five games. After a car accident forced him to miss time, Oubre returned to the court and, while he cooled off a little, continued to be one of the most vital players on the Sixers.
Oubre’s fit on this currently constructed roster is also unquestionable. While just looking at his shooting splits may alarm some people (44.1/31.1/75.0), context is important in this situation. Oubre didn’t have the year from beyond the arc that he wanted, but a lot of that can be attributed to the role he had to take on during Embiid’s absence.
Oubre played 1,448 minutes without the MVP center, and his three-point percentage took quite the dropoff without him. However, in the 608 minutes that Oubre was able to play with Embiid, he shot 37.6% from beyond the arc. It’s also important to quantify that Oubre Jr. is not just a regular-season performer.
In the playoffs, Oubre was the only Sixer not named Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey to average double-digit points per game at 13.2 points per game. Oubre also led all Sixers in field goal percentage in the playoffs this year at 48.4% from the field. Add in his 37.6% three-point shooting in the playoffs and his seamless fit on the court between Embiid and Maxey, and it’s a no-brainer why the forward fell back in love with basketball in Philadelphia. It’s also important to know that Oubre was also incredible on defense in the playoffs as well, averaging 1.8 steals per game and 1.2 blocks per game.
This season, Oubre is off to another strong start, averaging 21 points a night in three games. His efficiency certainly leaves something to be desired, but when Paul George and Joel Embiid do return, the offensive burden on Oubre will decrease significantly. When Oubre works within the confines of a defined role, he becomes a high-tier role player, the very kind Philadelphia will need to have a chance at an NBA title this year.
Tons of teams were looking for a wing who could score and defend this offseason. Oubre Jr., who had previously been seen as only an offensive player, bought in this year under head coach Nick Nurse, averaging 1.1 steals and 0.7 blocks per game this past season. Add in the fact that Oubre is also a scorer, and no one would have been shocked if Oubre had taken more than the MLE with a different team this season. Yet the man who led the reporters in a hand-stomp chant on media day instead chose to return to Philadelphia to bring a championship to the Sixers.
