September 26, 2024
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
How will Kelly Oubre Jr.'s role with the Sixers change in his second year with the team?
Welcome to our Sixers player preview series! Between now and Sixers Media Day on Sep. 30, we will preview each one of the 14 players on the team's standard roster, posing two critical questions that will help determine their fate in 2024-25 before making a prediction about the player's season to come.
Amid an enormous amount of roster turnover, the Sixers prioritized one of their own free agents above all: Kelly Oubre Jr., who starred in several roles in 2023-24 while playing on a prove-it deal of sorts, a veteran's minimum contract. Now, though, hopes are high for what Oubre will bring the Sixers in his second season in Philadelphia:
Sixers player previews
Jared McCain | Adem Bona | Reggie Jackson | Guerschon Yabusele | KJ Martin | Ricky Council IV | Eric Gordon | Kyle Lowry | Andre Drummond | Caleb Martin
Oubre has always been a willing three-point shooter, but he has not always been an accurate three-point shooter. That is not just half the battle; it actually is more than that. But the value of Oubre's very impressive three-point volume is capped by his lack of efficiency on those attempts: over the last four seasons, Oubre has taken 6.1 three-point attempts per game, but only made 32.6 percent of them.
The fact is, for better or worse, Oubre's numbers have always been influenced by team context. Before arriving in Philadelphia, he spent two years on lowly Charlotte Hornets teams without real aspirations to win in the short-term. His volume was inflated by his lack of credible teammates, but his ability to take and make quality looks was deflated by his lack of credible teammates as well.
Oubre's chaotic shooting splits last year paint an interesting picture, one that actually might explain the Sixers' apparent confidence in the veteran swingman's ability to improve his three-point percentage moving forward. They involve Joel Embiid, the Sixers' cornerstone with whom Oubre developed a strong rapport. Oubre did not get to share the floor as often as what would have been ideal because of Embiid's difficulties staying healthy throughout the season:
| Oubre 3P% with Embiid on the floor (608 minutes) | Oubre 3P% with Embiid off the floor (1,448 minutes) |
| 37.6% | 28.4% |
Source: PBP Stats
Not only do the Sixers hope and expect Embiid to play more than 39 games in 2024-25, but they also have more stars who can divert attention from role players like Oubre: Tyrese Maxey is returning, of course, but the team also added a wing threat in nine-time All-Star Paul George, a perennial 20-plus point-per-game scorer who can get buckets with the best of them.
One of the primary benefits of having a star-laden roster is that it can simplify everything for the non-stars on the roster, particularly when it comes to the offensive end of the floor. Oubre could be the most noteworthy player to be rewarded by this dynamic this season.
Oubre's strongest attribute last season might have been his ability to pressure the rim at will, but perhaps his most valuable one was his perimeter defense. Oubre bought all the way in on using his athleticism and length to become a pest for opposing ball-handlers and wings, and he did exactly that.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse and Oubre became a match made in heaven on defense, with Oubre frequenting the sort of risks that Nurse encourages his perimeter defenders to take without becoming a reckless player. When the Sixers entered the playoffs, Oubre was the team's most common defender against New York Knicks superstar point guard Jalen Brunson, the ultimate signal that he had earned an immense level of trust from Nurse and his staff on that end of the floor.
Newcomer Caleb Martin is likely a stronger perimeter defender than Oubre, but he is going to spend plenty of time at the four to open the season. Oubre very well may be treated as Nurse's defensive ace early in the season against guards like Brunson, Milwaukee's Damian Lillard and Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell, for example, with an excellent opportunity to prove his progression as a defender last season was no fluke.
Oubre's place in the starting lineup will not be cemented for the entire season, but he will be a critical contributor for the entire season.
I have more confidence in Oubre's defensive uptick being maintained than I do him shooting 35 percent or better from three-point range, but I do think each scenario is plausible. Of all of the subplots involving Sixers players on the offensive end of the floor, how the Sixers craft Oubre's role as a three-point shooter might be the single most interesting to me. While I am not sure if Oubre is truly good enough defensively to hang with All-Stars every night in the playoffs, he certainly has the chance to be, and that itself is a terrific accomplishment and a testament to his growth there.
If Oubre's reliability as a spot-up three-point shooter does indeed improve thanks to the Sixers' star talent and his defensive improvements from last year sustain, not only would the Sixers be set up wonderfully to succeed in the upcoming season, but Oubre would be primed to fetch a much larger contract next summer.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
