76ers Rumors: Kelly Oubre Jr. Lands $16.3M Contract amid Paul George's Deal in NBA FA

Kelly Oubre Jr. made a good first impression in Philadelphia during the 2023-24 season. The 76ers decided it was positive enough to run it back.

The team and Oubre agreed on a two-year, $16.3 million contract in free agency on Monday with a player option for 2025-26, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, as it continues to build out the core around Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

That agreement came shortly before the Sixers made the biggest splash of free agency thus far, signing nine-time All-Star Paul George to a four-year, $212 million maximum contract, per Wojnarowski.

Oubre, 28, was an important role player for the Sixers last season, averaging 15.5 points and five rebounds per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 31.2 percent from three. He appeared in 67 games and made 51 starts, giving the team a reliable two-way threat on the wing.

"Kelly has been phenomenal the last two months since I've been here," Kyle Lowry told reporters in April. "He's been phenomenal shooting the ball, driving the ball, making aggressive takes to the rim. He's just been phenomenal."

That represented excellent value for the Sixers after signing him to a one-year, $2.8 million deal. He was always going to get a raise this offseason.

And Oubre—who averaged a career-high 20.3 points per game with the Charlotte Hornets in the 2022-23 season before signing in Philly—made a real effort to be a complementary piece on the contending Sixers.

"Obviously, you see that scoring 20 points on a team that's not winning does nothing for you," he said in April. "But at the end of the day, being on a winning team and being able to contribute and be a piece is everything.

"At the end of the day, man, it's about basketball, being a piece to the team and an asset," he added. "So I'm just trying to be like water, man. Stay poised, form to whatever situation."

It was a refreshing perspective and one that convinced the Sixers that a reunion was in their best interest.