Cleared to play Wednesday, Sixers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. says little about reported hit-and-run

Although Kelly Oubre Jr. would like to talk about just basketball, that didn’t happen Monday. And it might not happen until the questions about the hit-and-run accident he reportedly was involved in are resolved.

The small forward was a full participant at a grueling 76ers practice on Monday and was cleared to play in Wednesday’s road game against the Washington Wizards. Sixers coach Nick Nurse expects him to come off the bench, assuming that current starter Nicolas Batum’s hyperextended right index finger is fine. Under that scenario, Oubre will come off the bench “early.”

But in his first media availability since Nov. 11, the day he suffered a broken rib in the reported accident, Oubre said little about the circumstances surrounding it.

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“First and foremost ... I want to say thank you to my family, my friends, the 76ers organization, especially Coach Nurse for the utmost support throughout this whole process,” he said. “But I’ve spoken to the police about this situation and they have an ongoing investigation. So I’ve spoken to whom I need to speak to about it and I’ll keep it … the way it is.

“I won’t be speaking in any detail about that because they’re looking into it.”

Oubre told police he was a victim of an alleged hit-and-run accident at a Center City intersection.

However, surveillance footage shows no evidence that an incident occurred where he reported being hit on that Saturday night. Oubre is new to the area after signing with the Sixers in September. He was asked if he was sure where the accident occurred.

“Like I said,” he said, “I won’t be answering any questions about the details of the situation.”

In the incident report, police said a car accident occurred Nov. 11 at 7:20 p.m. near 15th and Spruce Streets. A 27-year-old pedestrian, who was later identified as Oubre, was walking westbound on Spruce when a silver vehicle speeding in the same direction attempted to turn south onto Hicks Street. The vehicle reportedly struck Oubre in the upper chest area with the driver’s-side mirror. Oubre confirmed Monday that he suffered a fractured rib.

But a video subsequently published by TMZ added to mounting questions about the accident. TMZ published footage from Oubre’s doorbell camera showing him rolling a bicycle into his home. The website said that it documented the moments “just minutes after he was struck” on Nov. 11 and that his wife dialed 911.

The footage did not include a time-stamp and The Inquirer could not independently verify when it was taken.

Law enforcement sources with knowledge of the case said Oubre did not mention a bicycle in his initial account. The sources said Oubre and his representatives have declined to provide more information to police.

“This was and is a very traumatic situation for me and my family,” Oubre said. “I just wish that my life wasn’t The Truman Show, where everybody can kind of watch it and have their own opinion about my life. This is very hard for us to have to deal with — and for me to miss being on the court, which keeps me sane. A lot of people are very inconsiderate and insensitive to try to worry about video cameras and [stuff] about something that happened with my life, and it’s very detrimental to me and missing time with my job.

“So yeah, I’m just really blessed that it wasn’t worse than it is and that I’m able to come back to work and smile and walk and talk and breathe. That’s what I have to say about the conspiracy theorists, and I love them, too. Like, I sit there on my downtime and look at them. Not with my life, though.”

The injury forced Oubre to miss 11 games. He started his on-court workouts two weeks ago, and accompanied the Sixers on last week’s two-game road trip to New Orleans and Boston.

He said he’s been playing the guitar a lot, “chillin’ ” with his children, and watching television as ways to cope with the injury.

“Just on the couch kicking it for real, but being here at the practice facility or at the arena with the guys, man,” he said, “that’s been giving my heart the full wholeness because my kids can’t even jump on me at home. They can now — like at the end of the day, that’s what we do.”

Oubre said he got a sense of his identity back through basketball and his rehabilitation.

Just returning to the court will be exciting for him and the Sixers. The 6-foot-7, 203-pounder is averaging 16.3 points on 50% shooting — including 37.8% on three-pointers — in eight games with five starts.

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“Well, I’ll probably fire him right back in there,” Nurse said. “Let me see what it looks like getting to Wednesday. I think that it could matter if there’s other guys in or out, right? But I would imagine, like, if everybody’s healthy, he’s coming off the bench, and he’s coming [into the game] probably pretty early.”

Oubre was off to a great start, so the timing of the injury was tough.

“But I know for a fact in life, everything happens for a reason,” Oubre said. “So like it was a ... minor setback for a major comeback, right? Like I’m ready to hoop, man and this has been a long process for me and I’m just ready to finally be with my guys and perform, go to war with the coach, and make the organization look good.”

Oubre said he hadn’t spoken to Nurse about how many minutes he would play or his immediate role. He’s just ready to play.

But how badly does he want the person who allegedly ran into him caught?

“Like I said, I’m all for love and peace,” Oubre said. “But at the end of the day, this is a serious situation. I’m going to let the situation handle itself from there. I don’t hate anybody. I don’t wish any [malicious] intent on anybody.”