Jan 20, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. (9) reacts after his three pointer against the Phoenix Suns during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
He's been a starter for most of his three seasons with the Sixers, including the first 12 games of this season. But in that 12th game, Kelly Oubre, Jr. suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for close to two months, costing 22 games - and his job - in the starting lineup.
Now seemingly fully healthy, Oubre, Jr. has been a key piece coming off coach Nick Nurse's bench in his eight games since returning, with three spot starts in games that Paul George was unavailable.
So, where does Oubre, Jr. fit best when (if?) the team is fully healthy?
Right now, on the few occasions that has happened, Nurse has thrown out a starting lineup of Embiid, George, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Dominick Barlow. The first four are givens as starters. Barlow, not so much, though he has given the team exactly what they expect out of him in rebounding, hustling after loose balls and overall energy.
He’s diving on the court and fights for every ball
As a fan, how can you not like Kelly Oubre? pic.twitter.com/ndTNkRYH86 https://t.co/zmXr16hbj3
There are cases to be made for either Barlow or Oubre, Jr. to be in that final starting spot. Let's start with Barlow.
With a starting lineup that includes Embiid, George and Maxey, another scorer in the lineup probably isn't a necessity, especially when you factor in that rookie Edgecombe is only going to improve as the season progresses and has shown a proven scoring ability.
Having someone like Barlow who can concentrate on the hustle plays takes some of the pressure off Embiid and George. With his knee problems that have plagued him over the past couple of years, Embiid is no longer a dominant rebounder in traffic. He isn't going to jump over people anymore to snare boards. Many of his rebounds actually come when he is standing flat-footed, sort of just collecting as opposed to go-getting.
Also, with his affinity for shooting the ball from the outside, that takes him out of any possibility of gathering offensive rebounds, something Barlow has shown to do very well. Starting him allows Nurse to have some real scoring power coming off the bench in Oubre, Jr. and guard Quentin Grimes.
However, if Barlow isn't a starting, how does he fit in? Perhaps some energy minutes off the bench but it'd probably be hard to find him the 24 minutes he's getting as a starter now.
Oubre, Jr. started the first 11 games of the season and averaged 18 points during that time. Some label him a streaky scorer, but he has become more than that with a consistency that showed before his injury as he reached double figures in all of those 11 starts.
Kelly Oubre just scored 22 points in the first quarter for the Sixers 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tMbOHo1ion
That may be a part of Nurse's thinking in that having another proven scorer beginning the game won't allow defenses to key as much as they do on ether Embiid or Maxey.
In his past two games that he started, Oubre, Jr. has scored 21 and 18 points and made seven of his 13 three-point attempts. He demands attention when the Sixers have the ball, something the light-scoring Barlow (8.2 points a game) really doesn't. But he uses that to his advantage in attacking the offensive glass.
To his credit, Oubre, Jr. did say after the team's win over Indiana on Monday that he was good with whatever role Nurse and the coaching staff see best for him and the team, but added that he believes he is a starter in the league.
We'll have to see how this one plays out and it should do so soon, as the second half of the season has begun, which triggers the time for coaches button down their lineups and rotations.
