NEW YORK — Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. has had a typical Oubre season in his first year in Philadelphia. He’s averaging 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals while shooting 45.5% from the floor and 30.6% from deep.
Those numbers are on par with his career numbers although his scoring average and overall field goal percentage are a bit higher than his norm. Oubre has filled a key role for the Sixers and has been a reliable piece.
Thta role has been in flux throughout the season. There have been times he has started and stretches he has come off the bench. Coach Nick Nurse has relegated him to a bench role to feature him more on the offensive end.
However, it doesn’t appear that Oubre is completely on board with the idea.
“I don’t feel nothing,” Oubre said of his feelings of the role following the loss to the Brooklyn Nets. “I don’t know, but at the end of the day, I gotta go out there and keep a smile on my face, stay professional, and I’ll just do whatever the team needs me to do. That’s what I’m here for and that’s what I’m gonna continue to do, but I know my worth and I know my value so I’m gonna continue to just stay swaggy.”
One can understand Oubre’s feelings. He is on a one-year prove it deal and will enter free agency once again. In 2023, he went unsigned into September.
In 33 games as a starter, Oubre has averaged 14 points and shoots 45.8% from the floor and 32.7% from deep. In 15 games off the bench, he has averaged 14.5 points, 45% from the floor and 26.1% from deep. He averages 30.4 minutes as a starter and 26 minutes off the bench.
Oubre played 25:56 and had 21 points off the bench against the Dallas Mavericks and played 36:05 against the Nets to score 30 points. This comes after a five-game stretch in which he averaged 9.6 points and shot just 36.4% from the floor. Nurse wants to find better ways to utilize his unique skills.
“I mean, he ended up finishing both those games and playing a ton of minutes, right?” said Nurse. “I mean, I think that’s — he’s playing starter minutes, really, but I think that’s the idea in general is to get him going and get him—these are two huge games for him, right? He had bunch of really — not quite this huge early in the season, we were getting this kind of you know, 16-18-20 quite a bit and I think that’s what we’re looking for.”
Both sides have a point. Oubre wants a big role, and he appears to have one off the bench as Nurse pushes the right buttons to keep Philadelphia afloat without Joel Embiid.
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