January 26, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Sixers swingman Kelly Oubre Jr. and Philadelphia crowds feed off each other.
When he met with the media after putting pen to paper on a deal to return to the Sixers, Kelly Oubre Jr. said he had turned down offers from other teams worth more money. The reason? Oubre said he "fell in love with the game of basketball" during his first year with the Sixers, starring in several roles as the season progressed. After a summer in which the NBA scoffed at his 20 points per game and left him to sign a veteran's minimum contract days before training camps opened across the league, Oubre had proven his worth.
After a bumpy start, Oubre has settled into an ideal role in his second season with the Sixers. He has fully bought into doing all of the little things and making every hustle play he can. Best of all, he ignites Philadelphia crowds to be at their loudest more than any other player on the team.
"I love performing in front of people, but I love winning more, and I love winning in front of our fans the most. I think that's definitely a great synergy that we have," Oubre said after the team's upset victory over the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. "I want to make them get louder."
The energy Oubre gives to his teammates and the Wells Fargo Center is easily palpable.
"He found a home here, I feel like," Tyrese Maxey said on Friday. "The crowd kind of feeds off of him. He does a really good job of pumping the crowd up, keeping them engaged, and it kind of keeps him engaged as well."
For this week's edition of Sunday stats, a pair of numbers which help illustrate Oubre's recent success, as well as notes on a veteran leaving his mark and a young player finding his calling:
Kelly Oubre Jr.'s rebounds per game over his last 21 contests.
Oubre has made an emphatic effort to impact the game on the glass, and he has done so with remarkable effectiveness and consistency. Oubre, who nabbed 13 rebounds against Cleveland and another dozen in the Sixers' win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, has become a force as a rebounder. He can terminate opposing possessions by swooping in and notching a contested rebound and he can revive a Sixers possession thanks to his terrific understanding of where to be in order to maximize offensive rebounding chances. Oubre had seven offensive rebounds on Friday night in one of the best all-around games he has ever had as a Sixer:
Kelly Oubre Jr. was magnificent in the Sixers' upset win over the Cavaliers on Friday night.
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 25, 2025
22 points
8-16 FG
13 rebounds (7 offensive)
3 assists
3 steals
Team-high +13
A bunch of steals, offensive rebounds and an early and-one from Oubre's stellar showing: pic.twitter.com/1Shx1eRXp6
"I can do multiple things, whatever you need," Oubre said on Friday. "I mean, I'm a winning basketball player. So honestly, just coming to a winning organization like this one kind of puts things in perspective. I've averaged 20 [points per game], I've done things that everyone has done who is able to put the ball in the hole. But at the end of the day, I'm more than just a bucket. I'm an energy guy, defensive guy, I can score the ball as well. I'm just trying to be a well-rounded individual and a well-rounded basketball player."
Oubre's total number of and-ones this season (made basket while being fouled).
Perhaps the most underrated aspect of Oubre's season has been his finishing at the rim. Oubre has a tremendous frame, but is aided just as much by his fearless nature as a driver and attacker. Of course, his aggression does sometimes lead to shot attempts that are perhaps a bit too ambitious. But it has also enabled him to score through contact time and time again.
Every single NBA player with more and-one finishes than Oubre as things stand now is either an All-Star or a seven-footer. He is an elite company:
The only players with more and-ones than Kelly Oubre Jr. (20) this season entering Saturday...
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) January 25, 2025
Giannis, KAT, DeRozan, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Brunson, SGA, JJJ, Jokic, Maxey, Zubac, Mobley, Tatum, Siakam, Jaylen Brown, Şengün, Durant, Sabonis, Harden, Reaves, Dončić. pic.twitter.com/3u2S8LZhZ5
Oubre's most consistent offensive skill last season was without question his rim pressure. This year, Oubre has found a really nice rhythm on short, paint jumpers, which has given him more comfort inside without feeling the need to force the issue at the rim. But he is an incredible athlete with no fear and a lot of toughness. That combination goes a long way.
MORE: Can Sixers keep Guerschon Yabusele long-term? An expert explains
Eric Gordon's three-point percentage since returning from injury at the beginning of January.
When the 36-year-old veteran sharpshooter Gordon missed nearly two weeks due to a dental issue, it felt like just another chapter in a hellish season which would mark the end of his long run as an NBA rotation fixture. But Gordon returned to action on Jan. 1, and has played in every game since.
Gordon, who returned to action as a 27.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc this season, is all the way to 39.8 percent from three-point range as a Sixer thanks to an absurd month of long-range accuracy.
"I think that he's getting really good shots," Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said before Gordon made all four of his long-range tries in Friday night's win, including two clutch triples in the fourth quarter. "Obviously, he's making a lot more of them. I think maybe our guys are noticing a few other ways to use him."
But is this also a matter of one of the most accomplished three-point shooters in league history being due for a hot stretch?
"Yeah, I think a lot of it's probably just, he's a really good shooter and just was not shooting it well," Nurse said. "And now he is."
MORE: Sixers trade machine ideas, including a Jimmy Butler blockbuster
Pete Nance's three-point attempt rate (percentage of shot attempts from beyond the arc) with the Sixers.
The Sixers waived Lester Quinones early in December to ink Nance to a two-way contract in hopes of adding some depth at center. Nance has been forced into action a few times due to frequent injuries to Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond, among others, and if one thing has stood out, it has been his willingness to fire away from beyond the arc. The vast majority of Nance's shot attempts as a Sixer have come from long range.
"That's just a natural part of my game," Nance said after the team's Friday morning shootaround. "That's kind of what I do, really hunt me shot. And everybody on the team, on the coaching staff, has encouraged me to do so ever since I got here. And that's what got me the call up and everything like that. So just trying to do what I do."
In just two regular season games with the Delaware Blue Coats, Nance has been eager to launch threes against G League competition. In just 74 minutes across those two games, he has made 10 of his 20 three-point tries, including six in the first half on Thursday night against the Canton Charge, Cleveland's G League affiliate which he started this season with.
"I definitely felt pretty good," Nance said. "Got to figure out a way to keep that going in the second half and get that win."
MORE: PG, Nurse, Yabusele recall career highlights in Philadelphia
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