No rookie enters the NBA expecting to spend most of his initial season watching from the bench. Still, that’s the reality of the league — even for many first-round picks.
Such was the case for one-and-done Kansas wing Kelly Oubre Jr., whose first go-round in The Association came to a close Wednesday.
Oubre’s name won’t appear on any All-Rookie team ballots — not after playing just 10.7 minutes a game in 63 appearances for Washington, which, despite postseason expectations finished 41-41, three games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Oubre started five games in December, with injuries forcing then-coach Randy Wittman to start the 6-foot-7 rookie.
At the time, Oubre told [The Washington Post’s Jorge Castillo][1], he thought more would come in the months ahead.
> “I was feeling like, ‘I’ve showed I
> can be in this rotation,’?” Oubre
> said. “I can hold my own, so we’ll see
> what happens next. .?.?. I was like, I
> should be able to crack the rotation
> and be able to play and sustain the
> whole year.”
However, he only started four more times — going scoreless in the final two such occasions in late January.
The Wizards, according to The Post, had no plan to heavily involve Oubre in the rotation for 2015-16. Castillo reported Oubre would have spent time in the D-League if Washington’s injury issues hadn’t required the organization to keep him on the roster.
With the Wizards unexpectedly out of the playoff picture the final week of the regular season (leading to Wittman’s firing Thursday), Oubre played 20-plus minutes for the first time in nearly three months (a stretch that included 12 DNP’s).
Kelly Oubre beats the buzzer in Brooklyn! #NBAVine https://t.co/32jteUSGcb
— NBA (@NBA) April 12, 2016
The 20-year-old responded to his suddenly increased role Monday by scoring 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting on the road against Brooklyn, which finished with the third-worst record in the NBA (21-61).
> “You saw how I swagged it out a little
> bit?” Oubre asked afterward, referring
> to his buzzer-beating 3-pointer to
> close the first half.
Two days later, in Washington’s finale, Oubre scored 6 points on 3-for-8 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench.
KELLY. OUBRE. #WizHawks https://t.co/cv9O1pGqpY
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) April 14, 2016
On the season, Oubre shot 42.7% from the floor, 31.6% from 3-point range, 63.3% at the free-throw line, and averaged 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds.
Always confident, and oozing good vibes ([as evidenced by his “Wave Papi” social media pseudonym][2]), Oubre, the 15th pick in the 2015 draft, thought he had a solid first campaign.
> “I got a chance to play. I showed
> everybody in the league that I’m not a
> bust,” Oubre told The Post. “I’m
> ready. I can play in this league. No
> matter how many minutes I’ve totaled
> up the whole year, I got a chance to
> show everybody that I can play in this
> league and I can help a team win.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adp8-lY_UYU
Individual success is all relative in the NBA. And at least one of Oubre’s teammates, guard Garrett Temple, described to The Post what stood out about the young wing.
> “Just his willingness to learn as a
> draft pick that high that hasn’t been
> able to play as much,” Temple said.
> “He was in and out of the lineup, but
> he was always professional. Getting
> his work in every day, looking up to
> guys, asking questions. Being a
> sponge. It was a successful season in
> that regard.”
*- Keep up with the production of all the ‘Hawks in the NBA [daily at KUsports.com][3]*
*- [Follow @BentonASmith on Twitter][4]*
[1]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/kelly-oubre-jr-makes-the-most-of-his-minutes-as-the-wizards-beat-the-nets/2016/04/11/e3a1e624-0023-11e6-9203-7b8670959b88_story.html
[2]: http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/basketball-washington-wizards/talk/kelly-oubre-jr-has-alter-ego-and-his-name-wave-papi-washington-wizards-kansas-jayhawks
[3]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/mens_basketball/hawks_nba/
[4]: https://twitter.com/BentonASmith
