Kelly Oubre Jr.’s wants to ‘be water’ and embrace his ever-changing Sixers role

LOS ANGELES — Kelly Oubre Jr. first learned the phrase be water as a 7-year-old in Taekwondo class. Then, it became more of a personal mantra as the 76ers’ wing dove further into the iconic Bruce Lee’s life and philosophies.

“You try to control too much — or try to do so much, at any moment — you can make a mistake,” Oubre told The Inquirer while sitting courtside at Phoenix’s Footprint Center earlier this week. “And any mistake, at any moment, can cost you.

“It’s really deep, but it’s not. Just try to be like water and keep it as simple as possible.”

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That adaptability has been required throughout a season with the Sixers that Oubre described as “different,” during which his role has fluctuated for a variety of reasons. He missed about three early season weeks with a fractured rib sustained in what he said was a hit-and-run as a pedestrian in Center City.

Lineups have been tinkered with and around him, because of a barrage of health issues up and down the roster. And the Sixers are still searching for an identity while playing without injured reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid.

Yet Sixers coach Nick Nurse said Oubre, who is 6-foot-7, is now “trending upward” in everything from usage, to conditioning, to defensive mentality. The 28-year-old has totaled at least 18 points in nine of his past 10 games entering Friday’s matchup at the Los Angeles Lakers, and over that span he has averaged 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.0 block, and 0.9 steals.

“I just try to go hard in every single thing that I do,” Oubre said. “Hopefully, I can inspire people to do the same. I’m going to just bring me each and every day. I’m not going to be fake. I’m not going to have an ego. I’m just going to be me.

“I’m a passionate, kind-of-emotional player who plays hard each and every possession. Just trying to do that and use that as my foundation.”

Oubre scored a team-high 18 points and added five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and three blocks in Wednesday’s 115-102 loss at the Suns, his former team that he credits with helping jumpstart his career in 2018-20.

He was aggressive early, with a transition dunk, a leaning and-1 jumper, and an alley-oop pass to Mo Bamba highlighting his first half.

During the final 24 seconds of game action before the break, he converted a cutting layup, drew a foul after grabbing an offensive rebound off a missed Kyle Lowry free throw, and snatched a steal.

And he stayed on the floor for the entire fourth quarter with young teammates, helping cut into what had become a 26-point deficit.

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That production uptick is a result of Nurse still learning Oubre’s ideal fit with this version of the roster.

Though his 30.1% mark from three-point range is Oubre’s lowest since 2016-17, Nurse is placing him more at the top of the key, rather than in the corner, to unleash his attacking with the ball in his hands.

Oubre’s wicked first step means “he can get by most anybody” off the dribble, the coach said, which often unlocks his athleticism to throw down a thunderous dunk or draw a foul in the lane.

“I’m just glad that that’s on his radar,” Oubre said of Nurse. “I can do more, not being in the corner a lot. I just want to help. I know I can do a lot more on both ends of the floor.”

The next step for Oubre, Nurse said, is making sharper decisions when he shakes past that defender. Through extensive film work, coaches have helped Oubre identify everything that those moves create around him.

Recently, Nurse has liked when Oubre has stopped short of the rim to pull up for a jumper eight or 10 feet away, instead of attempting to maneuver around or through multiple bodies closer to the basket. His four assists Wednesday matched a season high, which he achieved two other times during this 10-game stretch.

“It’s been like nine years in the making for me making plays at the rim,” Oubre said. “But Coach Nurse has really brought it out of me. Just attacking, man, and realizing the force and the energy that I attract whenever I do, so somebody’s going to be open. I’ve got to find guys and be a playmaker, and I’m happy to do so.”

Added Nurse: “It’s a little bit slower. It’s a little bit more, probably, in the right tempo, at times. And it’s a good change of pace that you don’t just do the same thing every time.”

This recent surge is part of an Oubre season that Nurse described by using a wavy hand motion before Wednesday’s game in Phoenix.

The odd circumstances began in September, when Oubre joined the Sixers on a one-year, veteran-minimum contract despite scoring a career-best 20.3 points per game last season with the Charlotte Hornets.

He was shooting 50% from the floor and 37.8% from beyond the arc in eight games before his rib injury, an incident that initially drew outside questions when sources told The Inquirer and other outlets that police could not find video footage depicting such an accident. (Oubre and the Sixers stuck by his reporting of events.)

Oubre struggled to regain rhythm after that, while toggling between the starting lineup and an off-the-bench role that he occasionally bristled at when brought up during media sessions. But in the search for an offensive spark after Embiid’s injury, Oubre has become a high-usage player “almost out of necessity,” Nurse said.

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The coach still wants more defensive consistency from the rangy Oubre, a challenge when often tasked with guarding one of the opponent’s best players. The hope, though, is that this March burst evolves into a strong regular-season stretch run for a 38-31 Sixers team teetering between a play-in spot and a guaranteed first-round series with 13 games remaining before Friday.

Yet Oubre is not looking toward becoming a relied-upon contributor on a playoff team. Or to the contract uncertainty that again awaits this summer.

He is trying to be water.

“I don’t care about anything other than just today, right now,” Oubre said. “… Whatever God has planned for me, man, he’s going to have a plan. But I know for a fact that this [season] has made me a tougher individual. A stronger individual. Everything.

“This has been a very good learning experience for me.”