Kelly Oubre Jr. shifts from Sixers wild card to veteran voice: ‘I know what we need to do’

NASSAU, Bahamas — Kelly Oubre Jr. realized his status had changed when 76ers rookie teammate Justin Edwards recently greeted him with a “what’s up, OG?”

“And I was like, ‘Oh, chill, bro. I’m like five years older than you,’” Oubre recalled from training camp at Atlantis Paradise Island earlier this week.

Actually, Oubre is eight years older. Yet the exchange offered some perspective on his role within this new-look Sixers roster beginning its march toward the 2024-25 season. The 28-year-old wing still hopes to learn from the veterans — such as new Sixers Paul George, Eric Gordon, and Andre Drummond — assembled to try to push the Sixers into championship contention. Entering his 10th season, and second with the Sixers, Oubre also possesses the experience and knowledge that exemplify how quickly he shifted from wild card to reliable returning veteran.

“He seems like he went from about Year 2 to 10, to me,” coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday. “… He came back stronger, in shape. He’s focused. He’s playing hard. But he just seems like he’s more mature and more comfortable, which is really nice.

“I do think we know what we have. He’s really happy to be here, and we’re happy to have him.”

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey assumes a new role at Sixers training camp: He’s a leader now.

It is far different from how Oubre entered last season, as a September free-agency signee on a veteran minimum contract despite averaging a career-high 20.3 points per game during the 2022-23 season with the Charlotte Hornets. Oubre still reflects on that “dark summer” when he fired his agent (Torrel Harris, the father of former Sixer Tobias Harris), went months without a deal, and said he never picked up a basketball until a trip to a nearby park the week before training camp began.

The Sixers took a chance on the 6-foot-7 wing, who has long flashed the athleticism to attack the basket on drives and in transition, along with the ability to get hot from deep. Questions lingered, though, about whether his style translated to winning, after he missed the playoffs from 2018-19 to 2022-23 while with the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, and Hornets. And a personality and off-court lifestyle that Oubre calls “very eccentric” endears him to some and may be off-putting to others.

He began his media day press conference on Monday by proclaiming “I ain’t answering no questions if you ain’t gonna groove with me,” insisting the room’s occupants stomp each foot and clap their hands in the rhythm as if they were singing along to Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Oubre also drew headlines for non-basketball reasons last season, when he broke a rib in an alleged hit-and-run incident as a pedestrian in Center City, went viral for yelling obscenities at the officials in the aftermath of a March loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, and crashed his Lamborghini following an April playoff game.

On the court, Oubre developed into a complementary offensive threat alongside the All-Star tandem of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and averaged 15.4 points and 5.0 rebounds in 68 games. Nurse got Oubre to facilitate more than at previous stops (three or more assists in 15 regular-season games). He was one of the primary defenders on Jalen Brunson during the first-round playoff series against the New York Knicks, draping the MVP contender with his long arms and pestering him from behind when he got into the lane.

“It opened my eyes back to what we’re really playing for during the regular season,” Oubre said of his return to the postseason. “I want to get back there. I’m still sour about how the Knicks fans were on us that whole series. It’s a new year. Clean slate. Zero-zero. So let’s get it.”

As Sixers followers waited for George’s overnight free-agency decision to come to Philly, news broke that Oubre would return on a two-year, $16.3 million deal. Oubre acknowledged he remains motivated — “very hungry, starving,” he said at media day — to return to his salary level before the summer of 2023. But he also felt content to stay with the organization where he had forged solid relationships.

“I just wanted to go to where the love was at,” Oubre told The Inquirer on Tuesday. “… It’s hard to kind of accept me as a human being because I’m very eccentric. I’m me. So once you kind of understand who I am, it makes things easier.

“I was like, ‘I want to stay where I’m at because they know me and they know my heart and my intentions and who I am off the court.’”

Unlike last summer, Oubre said he spent significant time in Los Angeles with longtime personal trainer Drew Hanlen, who also works with Embiid and Maxey. A shoulder issue that Oubre “just never really took care of” last season has healed, he added. He also worked with a wrist therapist to “create more space” when he shoots. He hopes that all will help him reestablish consistency from long range, after he connected on 31.1% of his 4.8 three-point attempts per game last season.

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With opposing defenses focused on the Sixers’ star power, Oubre likely will get a plethora of open looks. He also envisions an “infinite amount of opportunities” — and healthy competition — along the perimeter defensively, with George and Caleb Martin joining as projected starters.

“We’re definitely very versatile, agile, athletic,” Oubre said. “But the difference is we all want that challenge. So it’s going to be fun fighting with them, to see who guards and stops this guy who’s trying to get off.

“Call us the water stoppers. Call us the plumbers.”

Following the Sixers’ first practice, Nurse highlighted Oubre as part of a group — including Maxey, Martin, and Guerschon Yabusele — that consistently unleashed high intensity and speed. Oubre also is willing to slow things down for newcomers absorbing numerous concepts from the staff in these initial days together.

“I’m a vocal individual, anyway,” Oubre said. “If anybody needs help or if anybody’s struggling with something that Coach is saying and I actually know how to translate that to them, then I’ll do that every single time.

“It’s been easy. I know what Coach is trying to implement. I know what we need to do and what we didn’t do last year.”

Because Oubre, in Edwards’ words, is now an OG.