It’s probably not getting noticed as the Sixers continue to lose games, but Kelly Oubre, Jr. has been available and plays hard for Philly on a nightly basis.
Thursday night was the most recent drubbing the Sixers took as we now have exactly 20 games left in this dreadful season. The Sixers fell to 21-41 with the 123-105 loss in Boston which was hardly a surprise. Philadelphia never led in the game and trailed by as many as 30 points. Better health wouldn’t have saved the Sixers in Beantown, but it’s worth noting that Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Kyle Lowry were among the Sixers ruled out last night in addition to those who are already out for the year.
But there is one player who played last night for the Sixers who is worth talking about. He’s played almost every night in 2024-25 for Philly and that’s Kelly Oubre, Jr. If you actually watched the entire game, Oubre would have been the most noticeable Sixer by a country mile. The second-year Sixer stuffed the stat sheet at TD Garden on Thursday finishing with 27 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 3-of-5 from the three-point line while adding five rebounds and six assists. He also shot seven free throws and no other Sixer attempted more than two.
There’s an effort level and desire to play hard every night that Oubre displays which is commendable during a season that has been so easy for anyone that’s healthy for the Sixers to tap out on. Oubre has appeared in 58 games this season and started 55 of them. His 58 games played is tied for the most on the team with Guerschon Yabusele and his 55 starts are the most on the roster. The next game he starts will be his career high in games started. His 47% shooting also stands to be a career high. Yabusele has rightfully been discussed as one of the team’s bright spots in this dark season. But Oubre’s name should be brought up in those conversations as well.
The deeper you dive into Oubre’s career, the more snakebit you’ll realize he is with regard to where he’s landed and how close he’s been to playing for contenders. His career began in Washington 10 years ago and the Wizards had some good teams but Oubre was primarily a bench player for them out of the gate. During the 2018-19 season, Oubre was shipped across the country from DC to Phoenix and joined a rebuilding Suns team. Unfortunately for Oubre his stint in the desert was brief and he was not a part of the 2021 Western Conference champion Suns roster. Oubre was traded to Oklahoma City just before the start of the 2020-21 season in a pivotal move for Phoenix that brought in Chris Paul. A week later, Oubre was rerouted from Oklahoma City to Golden State.
You might have thought Golden State would be a good place to land. Unfortunately, Oubre ended up in the Bay Area while the Warriors were in the midst of their only down period in the last 10 years. The Warriors missed the playoffs in 2020-21 and Oubre departed for Charlotte in free agency. Of course, Golden State won another NBA Championship in 2021-22.
Oubre did have some individual success in the Queen City getting some Sixth Man of the Year votes in 2021-22 and made regular starts in 2022-23 and averaged a career high in scoring before coming to Philadelphia. As you can see, the Kansas product has played with a few rebuilding and dysfunctional franchises while also joining Golden State during its lone recent down period. Oubre was a solid pickup for Philly in the 2023 offseason and appeared to be settling in despite only being on a one-year deal. With the thought being that last year was a bit of a punt year for Philly en route to a massive amount of cap space in the 2024 offseason, Oubre decided to re-sign in Philadelphia and be a part of what appeared to be a bright future. Sure enough, after an influx of moves last summer, the Sixers entered 2024-25 with championship aspirations.
As we all know, the season could not have worked out in a worse way and Oubre is stuck on another loser. But it does not appear as if Oubre’s attitude has diminished. As we noted, his effort still seems to be there and his professionalism is admirable. It’s uncertain what next season will look like for the Sixers, but provided Oubre opts in to the 2025-26 portion of his contract, he’s one guy fans should certainly feel happy for if the Sixers bounce back and return to the postseason. He has paid his dues and has not complained along the way.