Report: Kelly Oubre Jr. picks up $8.3 million player option with Sixers

Kelly Oubre Jr. has elected to pick up his player option for the 2025-26 season worth $8,382,150, according to a report from Shams Charania of ESPN.

Oubre, 29, has averaged 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in two years with the Sixers, spanning 128 games (109 starts). Originally signed to a veteran’s minimum deal, Oubre starred in his role during the 2023-24 season, earning a slight pay raise on a two-year pact with a second-year player option. But with a barren market in free agency, Oubre will play for $8.3 million in the hopes that a strong season can enable him to finally secure the long-term deal he desires next summer.

It is not necessarily an inevitability that Oubre returns to Philadelphia, as he can be dealt immediately upon accepting his option and does have the most trade-friendly contract on the Sixers as things stand now. But for a versatile defensive wing with secondary scoring chops who made major strides as a decision-maker last season, that $8.3 million is a valuable figure for the time being.

The Sixers can enter the 2025-26 season knowing they have a quality two-way contributor on the wing making a reasonable amount of money, and for a team that has experienced excessive turnover in recent years, it can only help to keep someone with a real sense of familiarity around.

However, the extent to which Oubre can be relied on as an extremely inconsistent three-point shooter whose decision-making does remain suspect is up for debate. And given the structure of the Sixers’ salary cap sheet, with three max contracts on the books, even someone making $8.3 million must be an absolutely critical component of the rotation.

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