Sixers’ Kelly Oubre makes ‘first step’ in recovery, returns to practice court after hit-and-run incident

In no world should a rusty practice performance feel this good. Yet inside the 76ers’ practice facility on Monday, there was an understandable sense of optimism for injured Kelly Oubre, who reportedly was involved in a traffic incident on Nov. 11.

“That was his first day back on court,” Sixers coach Nick Nurse said.

Sixers vice president of athletic care Simon Rice told Nurse that Monday and Tuesday’s evaluations are critical in Oubre’s return from a broken rib suffered in the hit-and-run accident.

» READ MORE: Sixers vs. Nets takeaways: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey are NBA’s top scoring duo; Philly is a deep team

“I think getting him moving was the first step,” Nurse said. “Getting him into some contact and things is the next step. I think after [Tuesday] we’ll have a little better read on the timeline.”

Oubre was originally expected to miss substantial time after disclosing to police that he was struck in Center City by a motor vehicle at a pedestrian crosswalk. However, a source recently said the small forward was progressing well and will return in weeks as opposed to months. Nurse wouldn’t put a timeline on that return.

“I haven’t really zeroed in on thinking about a timeline to be honest with you,” the coach said. “I think I knew it was going to be a little bit before we knew. But I think he’s moving pretty good today.

“I think that’s the first positive sign. So we hope the sooner the better, that’s for sure.”

The 6-foot-7, 203-pound forward is averaging 16.3 points on 50% shooting — including 37.8% on three-pointers — in eight games with five starts.

» READ MORE: Leaked video of Kelly Oubre Jr. with bicycle after reported hit-and-run raises more questions

He signed a one-year, $2.89 million deal with the Sixers in September.

“It was good to see him ... getting up and down,” Sixers forward Robert Covington said. “His recovery has been going well. So it’s just a matter of us just waiting.”

Oubre walked in the gym at the conclusion of Monday’s practice. The 27-year-old initially did cardio work at the far end of the gym before participating in shooting drills with a black protective brace around his ribs. As expected, Oubre was a little rusty after not playing since Nov. 10 vs. the Detroit Pistons.

“I think they’ll do some type of drill work where there’s some live [workouts] against maybe development coaches,” Nurse said. “Things like that will be the very next step. Then we’ve just got to progress it to live scrimmaging before he gets back on the court.”

The Sixers (10-3) will entertain the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday in their NBA In-Season Tournament East Group A finale. The Sixers are 2-1 in pool play. They’ll need to beat the Cavaliers, who 7-6 and 1-1 in the In-Season Tournament, and get some help in order to win their pool.

The Sixers are second in pool play behind the Indiana Pacers. Indiana (7-5, 2-0) has two remaining tournament games: against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday and the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

» READ MORE: Nick Nurse supports Kelly Oubre Jr. as questions swirl around hit-and-run incident: ‘I’m going to believe him at his word’

The group-stage tiebreaker between two teams is head-to-head results. If more than two squads are tied for first place, the tiebreaker is points differential.

The three pool winners and the group runner-up with the best record from each conference will advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.

The quarterfinals will be played at NBA arenas on Dec. 4-5, before the tourney heads to Las Vegas for the final four. The teams that advance to the knockout round will compete for a prize pool and the NBA Cup.