Former Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. has decided to remain a member of the Philadelphia 76ers for a third season.
Oubre, 29, on Sunday elected to pick up his $8.4 million player option for next season and return to the team, ESPN.com reported.
The 11-year NBA veteran averaged 15.1 points (on 47% shooting) and 6.1 rebounds per game while playing 60 games (57 starts) a year ago. He missed the last month of the season with a right-knee sprain.
Oubre, a member of KU’s team in 2014-15, has played in the NBA for Washington, Phoenix, Golden State, Charlotte and Philly. He was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He will become a free agent next offseason.
He has averaged at least 15.0 points per game in each of the last seven seasons. In his first 10 years in the league Oubre has averaged 13.3 points with 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 655 games (311 starts).
“I think the first thing about Kelly is he’s out there every night playing hard,” coach Nick Nurse late last season in an interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia. “He’s out there every night competing and playing hard, and that goes a long way. With or without certain guys, his priority of being a scorer elevates for us. I think he continues to improve at that. I like that part of his game where he’s getting to the front of the rim and finishing. And he competes, man. Nobody can question the effort that he’s giving every single night.”
In 2024-25, Oubre hit 71 of 242 three-point attempts —29.3%, the second-worst percentage of his career. At KU he averaged 9.3 points a game on 44.4% shooting. He was 34-of-95 from 3-point range, for 35.8%.
“I’m going to work on my craft, my shooting of course,” Oubre told the Philadelphia Inquirer, referring to upcoming summer drills. “I had surgery on my hand back in my tenure in Charlotte (three seasons ago with Hornets). I’ll see my hand therapist, get that range of motion back, get my confidence up with a whole lot of reps. I’ll get up a lot of shots, a lot of 3s. I’ll work on everything, my handles, more reads, more live plays, making sure the things I learned this year about getting in the paint, creating for others and creating synergy will be better next year.”
He said he plans on “bringing the swag back and all I know is that I’ll come back better than I was this year. I’m going into year 11 in my career. (I’m) blessed to still be here, but at the end of the day, I’m not satisfied with the way I’m perceived by you guys (media) and fans for what I do bring to the NBA.
“So, ‘Tsunami’s’ back.” Oubre added smiling, as he referenced his nickname — “Tsunami Papi.”
Oubre at this time is expected to start in a lineup that includes Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey. ESPN reports that those three players missed a combined 134 games in 2024-25 because of injury.
The Sixers are coming off a disappointing 24-58 season. The team selected Baylor one-and-done standout guard V.J. Edgecombe in the 2025 NBA Draft.
“At the end of the day, I’m happy,” Oubre said on April 13 to NBC Sports Philadelphia. “And I feel like I like to finish what I start, and I don’t feel complete.”