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Was I too quick to disregard Kelly Oubre and Andre Drummond?

Sport has always been a fickle affair. Emotions swing from one game to the next, with fans typically occupying the most extreme of stances after any win or loss. For those who support teams in the NFL or in the English Football pyramid, we're left to stew on the successes or failures of our respective teams for 7 days before having another opportunity to have our mood toyed with again. But the NBA, like the MLB gives our teams the opportunity to bounce back as early as the next day. This means that players can redeem themselves after poor performances leaving some fans (Like myself) looking foolish with their takes. When it comes to the Sixers, I'm always happy to be proved wrong, especially when it means that the team is benefitting. I'm delighted to say that it seems that this may be such an occasion, but ultimately, will this last, or is it just a flash in the pan?


After the highs of beating the Boston Celtics on Wednesday I still found myself creating a trade package shipping out Kelly Oubre and Andre Drummond in order to potentially draw in a more "effective" starting power forward. This was after Drummond logged just 2 minutes and Oubre nearly shot us out of the game, displaying some of his questionable decision-making. It seemed to me that their days in Philly should be numbered, that Adem Bona should have the back-up center minutes on lock, and that we need to find a wing who is simply more reliable and less volatile. I did concede that Kelly will win us games and come up in some big moments, but ultimately, my mind was made up. Until last night.


I won't pretend that I am now firmly in the "keep Kelly and Dre at all costs" camp, but I am now certainly having doubts about my doubts because anyone who watched us scrape past the Charlotte Hornets will know that we would not have this one in the win column without Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre. The Sixers started promisingly, getting a much better output from Joel Embiid whilst the Hornets got the usual business given to them from Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes and the likes. But what Oubre gave us wasn't anything earthshattering, it was a well structured performance where he played his role expertly, making the correct decisions, not trying to overplay it, and delegating to those who are simply better players. By doing this, Kelly put up 19/1/1 with 2 steals on 7/10 shooting including 2/3 from three and 3/3 from the free throw line. All the while bringing his usual intensity on the defensive end.


Oubre was integral to our victory against Charlotte, but can he do this consistently? [Credit: https://cdn.nba.com/manage/2023/11/kelly-oubre-jr-iso-1568x882.jpg]
Oubre was integral to our victory against Charlotte, but can he do this consistently? [Credit: https://cdn.nba.com/manage/2023/11/kelly-oubre-jr-iso-1568x882.jpg]

It's a simple role he has to fill but too often he hasn't quite done this consistently enough. Last night however he showed he can do it and that when he does it's conducive to winning games of basketball. It's been theorised by some that the reason for this is that now he's got the big players returning. Therefore there is now no need for him to do too much on the offensive end, allowing him to focus on being the best role player he can be. The jury is still out, but to win favour of the fans he just needs to maintain this sort of play. Oubre is one of the few in the squad who embodies the idea of being "Philly tough", fans do not need an excuse to back him they just want strong consistent play where he averages an efficient 10-15 points per game. This, if coupled with his usual intensity and defensive prowess should make him a lock in this side going forward.


When people talk about the great rebounders in the leagues history, Hall of Famers like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Dennis Rodman always get their names thrown into the mix, and justifiably so. But when we get down to the stats Andre Drummond shines. This is most apparent when it comes to rebound percentage. This calculates the percentage of rebounds taken by the player compared to the total number of rebounding opportunities. This statistic has only been monitored since 1970 thereby omitting Wilt and Bill, but Drummond tops the standings with a score of 25.05%, above the likes of Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Dwight Howard, and Sixers great Moses Malone. It was Drummonds rebounding that won him the favour of the Sixers fans during his first stint with the team from 2021-2022. During this season he put 6pts and 9 rebounds, showcasing himself as a more than capable back up to Joel Embiid, with many proclaiming him as the best back up Embiid has ever had, taking a huge amount of pressure off the former MVP. Reluctantly however, Drummond was packaged with Ben Simmons and sent to Brooklyn with James Harden coming the other way, it was a necessary evil for many Sixer fans, who were excited by the arrival of Harden but disheartened to see fan favourite Drummond depart.


Fast forward 2 years later and Sixer fans rejoiced when it was announced that Drummond would be signing a 2-year deal to return to Philly. Finally we would have a reliable big man back to support Embiid and would be a cog in a strong Sixer team that had recently made the marquee acquisition of Paul George. As we all know, the 2024/25 season was a disaster. Characterised by poor roster construction, injuries, and a general lack of optimism from fans and players alike. This led to criticism falling at the feet of Andre who did not perform to the standard expected of him. He found himself starting more, but it was felt by many that the 2-time all-star should still be able to positively impact NBA games. Unfortunately for Drummond this never quite came to fruition. Fans therefore wrote Drummond off, and felt that the best utilisation of Dre would be to package his $5m a year contract and send him off. Dre had cited injury as a reason for why he may have been underperforming last season. But many did not give him much sympathy, adamant that he's unable to positively impact games like he used to.


Last nights home-opener showed us that we could have written Dre off far too soon. In the first half the Sixers were haemorrhaging rebounds, with Kalkbrenner, Diabate, and Bridges all dominating the glass for Charlotte. Adem Bona did not have the desire impact during the non-Embiid minutes and coach Nurse made a bold decision to play Drummond and see if that'll rectify some of the issues we were seeing on the glass. What happened next was a throwback to the Drummond fans fell in love with just 3 years ago. In 15 minutes, Drummond had 7 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He bullied the Hornets off of the glass and made it his feeding ground, underlining this point with a highlight putback dunk which nearly took the roof off the X-Finity Arena.


This was the Drummond we hoped for when he re-signed, this is the Drummond we hope we get for the remainder of this year. It's clear that Embiid is still not 100%. If we can have Drummond helping him along the way by providing a positive impact on the floor in Joel's stead and by continuing to serially rebound (A skill that Embiid is not known for) then he will complement this team magnificently. He's now taken the back up center role from Bona, he now has to showcase his talents game in, game out. Do this and he will once again be a firm fan favourite, failure to do so, and he could be finishing the season elsewhere. Like any sane sports fan no one ever wishes that their players fail to perform. Kelly and Andre have proved their doubters wrong (for now), it is crucial that they keep asserting themselves, doing what they do best, whilst simultaneously not trying to do too much. Do all of this, then hopefully I can look back on this article with a smile knowing I was completely wrong about two fantastic role players for the 2025/26 Philadelphia 76ers.

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