PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are done for the 2023-24 season. A season filled with adversity and challenges ended with a 118-115 loss to the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the first round in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The tough series ended with a cumulative one-point scoring differential in favor of the Knicks.
Now is the time to reflect on the season while looking ahead to the summer roster upgrades the Sixers can make. That includes decisions on their own free agents.
One of those free agents is Kelly Oubre Jr. The Sixers brought him in on a veteran minimum deal shortly before training camp, and he was a steal. He averaged 15.4 points and 5 rebounds and produced well in the playoffs against the Knicks.
“I just wanna be loved,” Oubre said of his free agency values. “I don’t know about the business side of it. I mean, I do, but I can’t tell you what I know because I represent myself right now. At the end of the day, I wanna go somewhere where they respect and they love me. It’s been nothing but love here, of course.”
Oubre and the Sixers did not get the job done in 2024. The goal was to win a title. That, obviously, did not happen. The injury to Joel Embiid didn’t help, but it doesn’t change the fact the Sixers once again came up short in the playoffs.
“At the end of the day, I feel as if there’s unfinished business and a lot of things to be done and a lot of work to be done to get better and to get us back here past this point and this threshold that Sixers fans have been wanting to get past for so long,” Oubre added. “I feel as if I kinda failed because we didn’t get past that.”
The moment is still fresh at the moment. Oubre understands he needs time to be with his family before dealing with business matters.
“I gotta just reflect, talk to my family, and sit down and just work on the next steps here, but today, I just bask in whatever we’re in right now,” he added. “This moment, this aura of losing a playoff series and just use that fire.”
Coach Nick Nurse has had a hugely positive impact on Oubre in his one season in Philadelphia. Nurse is one reason Oubre would want to return to the Sixers.
“Oh yeah,” he finished. “He’s the best coach I’ve played for straight up. It’s just his savviness. He’s a rock star for real, so I can get with that, and also, he coaches me tough. He understands what he expects of me and he expects me to go out there and do it, but I just have to exceed expectations like I’ve always tried to do.”
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