Philadelphia 76ers forward Kelly Oubre Jr. said he went through a “traumatic” event when he was struck by a vehicle in an alleged hit-and-run incident Nov. 11.
Oubre spoke to reporters Monday about the incident before returning to the court Wednesday. He will wrap up an 11-game absence when the 76ers visit the Washington Wizards, one of his former teams.
Oubre suffered a fractured rib in the incident. He also dealt with a subset of people online who were skeptical about his version of events as detailed in a police report.
“This was and is a very traumatic situation for me and my family,” he said. “I just wish that my life wasn’t like ‘The Truman Show,’ where everybody can kind of watch it and have their own opinion about my life. This is very hard for us to have to deal with … and for me to miss being on the court, which keeps me sane.”
Oubre cited the ongoing police investigation as he declined to delve into specifics. The police have said they do not have any video evidence of the crash, which led to speculation Oubre deemed unfair.
“A lot of people are very inconsiderate and insensitive to try to worry about video cameras and (expletive). It’s something that happened in my life and is very detrimental to me, missing time in my job,” Oubre said. “So I’m just really blessed that it wasn’t worse than what it is, and that I’m able to come back to work, smile, walk and talk and breathe.”
Per the police report, a fast-moving silver vehicle struck Oubre as he was crossing a street near his home in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia. He was transported to a hospital in stable condition and had hip and right leg injuries in addition to the broken rib.
“I’ve spoken to the police about this situation and they have an ongoing investigation,” Oubre said after thanking the organization, his teammates and 76ers coach Nick Nurse. “So I’ve spoken to who I need to speak to about it, and I’ll keep that where it is.”
Oubre, who turns 28 on Saturday, is in his first season with the 76ers after previous stays with Washington (2015-18), the Phoenix Suns (2018-20), the Golden State Warriors (2020-21) and the Charlotte Hornets (2021-23).
He was averaging 16.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and shooting a career-high 50 percent from the floor, including 37.8 percent from 3-point range, in eight games (five starts) before his injury.
–Field Level Media