CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers made a late move in free agency by bringing in Kelly Oubre Jr. on a one-year deal after a few seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. He averaged 20.3 points for Charlotte in the 2022-23 season.
As Oubre Jr. prepares for his first season in Philadelphia, he spoke on why he signed with the Sixers and what he likes about the team.
“It was, obviously, late in the free agency period and I was really taking this offseason to kind of dial my life in and re-energize and refocus and Mr. (Daryl) Morey and coach Nick (Nurse), they were constantly trying to get in contact with me,” Oubre Jr. explained. “At the end of the day when I sat down, and all my options, pretty much were what they were, I knew for a fact that I want to go somewhere where I wanted.”
Oubre Jr., a lanky forward who can do a lot of things out on the basketball court such as score, rebound, and make plays for others, compared the process to his college recruitment. He explained that Kansas coach Bill Self was the first person to recruit him.
“Just like Kansas,” he added. “Coach Self was the first person to recruit me from a freshman. It really brought me back to my roots of basketball. You go where you’re wanted and you go where you’re loved, and I felt like this is the right place.”
Oubre Jr. is now also joining a team with high expectations. The Sixers consistently have won 50-plus games over recent years which is something that the 7-year veteran has not experienced too often.
“I don’t want to bash any other organizations out there, but I’ve been on a couple of teams in my career and this is the most well-oiled machine that I’ve been to,” Oubre Jr. added. “It’s my first time actually sitting at a press conference table with this many people and, it’s a culture shock for real, but at the end of the day, I’m ready to adapt.”
Oubre Jr. has only been to the playoffs twice in his career. Those experiences came in 2017 and 2018 while with the Washington Wizards. He has not been to the playoffs since and he wants to experience that now with the Sixers.
“Honestly, man, this team wins every year. Right?” Oubre Jr. continued. “The fan base wants them to win more, but I’ve come from teams where they have no hope, like, zero hope within the whole city and this is not that at all. So I appreciate this fan base, man for being so hard on the team and wanting to see greatness because they deserve it. The organization gives its players the platform to do so with everything around us. So it’s night and day from what I’ve been to, man and I’m gonna just take advantage of it, soak it all in, and take it day by day.”
The Sixers head to Colorado State University to begin training camp on Tuesday, which will give Oubre Jr. a chance to jell with his new team.
[lawrence-related id=84434,84431,84426]