Kelly Oubre takes major step in recovery from alleged hit-and-run incident
Oct 20, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) reacts after a defensive stop against the Atlanta Hawks during the fourth quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Kelly Oubre Jr. continues to recover well from the recent injury he suffered.
Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse revealed this week that Oubre has returned to on-court workouts with the team. Oubre will be re-evaluated again in one week, and Nurse said that there is even a chance that Oubre could be back right after his re-evaluation period.
“Yeah, there might be a chance,” said Nurse of an Oubre return next week, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I think we’re still at a stage where we’re not sure how he’s going to handle the contact part of it. I think that’s going to determine it.
“Like if he handles that, kind of first time out OK, I think we’re close to that week timeline,” Nurse added. “If he doesn’t, then we’re going to be pushing some more days on that. Hopefully days, and not weeks on that.”
Oubre’s return to on-court workouts come less than two weeks after he was struck as a pedestrian during an alleged hit-and-run incident in Center City, Philadelphia. Local police recently raised questions about the circumstances of the supposed accident, and any such footage of it has yet to emerge. But a video of Oubre in the aftermath of that night has surfaced, putting some of those doubts to rest.
What is not in dispute is that Oubre suffered a fractured rib as well as cuts and bruises. As a result, it is a big positive that he has returned to on-court activities so soon afterwards. The 76ers have gone 3-3 since Oubre was hurt with a combination of Danuel House, Jaden Springer, and Robert Covington absorbing most of Oubre’s minutes. Philadelphia would obviously love to get Oubre back as soon as possible since he was averaging 16.2 points a game on 50.0 percent shooting before getting injured.