PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are playing some good basketball to begin the season as they continue to turn the page on the season before where things just went completely wrong. A big reason for Philadelphia’s success as been the play of Tyrese Maxey and the guards, but Kelly Oubre Jr. continue to show up for this gorup.
Oubre had 19 points in Philadelphia’s win over the Toronto Raptors on Saturday and will look to help the Sixers continue stacking wins. He has been a consistent scorer for this group and has constantly taken on the opposition’s best scorer.
The best part about Oubre’s season thus far has been his positive mindset. No matter if he gives up a bucket–which is going to happen in this league. These guys are the best of the best and Oubre continues to get back at it and continue to be a pest on the defensive end which is some advice he gives to the youngsters.
“Just over my career learning, man,” Oubre said. “You can’t harp on the past. It’s not going to help you in the future. So, I just try to stay present. Always a next play mentality, but that’s just like, obviously, in my career as I continue to just evolve, you tell the young guys next play, next play.”
It can be hard to have that mentality and to just keep it pushing, but Oubre has been a big part of Philadelphia’s success. His leadership and presence on both ends of the floor have been a big help and it’s something he wishes he knew when he was a younger player.
“Don’t worry about it because when I was younger, I was not this way, right?” Oubre added. “I was harping on every little thing because I wanted to get on the court and be perfect, but the game is not perfect. I’m not perfect, but at the end of the day, I’m gonna give my all to my assignment and I’m just gonna focus on the present instead of the future.”
When considering this is his 11th year, one might assume that Oubre isn’t learning anymore. The veteran out of Kansas has put together a solid career and has been a reliable piece everywhere he has been in the league. However, he still wants to learn and take his game to another level and that leads to him still making improvements.
“Just honestly never getting too high, never getting too low,” Oubre explained. “I’m not where I want to be by any stretch of my career, so I still have a lot to learn and I still have a lot to prove and show for myself.”
Oubre has gotten into reading. While others might not look into reading any books anymore, Oubre singled out one book that has helped him to become better every offseason.
“I’m not a complacent person,” he finished. “I read this book called ‘Beginner’s Mind’ and it kinda talks about that. Just always learning and growing, so I try to do that every year I’ve been in the league. Just trying to grow and learn something new and try to be better than I was the year before so that’s just where that comes from.”
