Kelly Oubre, the Indiana Pacers' new addition at wing, enters this season chasing the fast-paced identity he says fits him best. In an exclusive interview with HoopsHype, on behalf of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4, Oubre opened up about his growth as a player, his excitement about pairing with Tyrese Haliburton, dealing with adversity in Philly, his approach to winning this season and more.
You signed with the Pacers in July on a two-year deal. What made Indiana the right fit at this point in your career and how do you see your game fitting into that system?
Kelly Oubre Jr: For me, I have a lot left to give. And the brand that I would choose to play for would be the Pacers organization, right? Fast pace, a little flair. But they have a great system in place through a great coach in Coach Carlisle. And I think they checked all the boxes for me, from what I was looking for to kind of get back to my roots and just
to have fun playing the game.
Philly was amazing. I loved my time there. But obviously, you know, there's no shade, but it was a slower pace. So, you know, I'm a wing. I like to run. I like to play in transition, and Hali is like the best at that. So I think we have a great partnership and a great friendship already off the court, just from working out with Drew and having the same agent. So this was kind of a no-brainer for me, just to be able to play with that fast-paced team and get them back to the promised land.
How much did the chance to play alongside Tyrese Haliburton factor into your decision?
KO: No, most definitely. You know, I would be a fool to say it wasn't. He's the head of the snake over here. And to have a head of the snake with their head on their shoulders is very rare. And I think that kind of played a big factor in it.
He's very mature, well beyond his years. He's very experienced now, and he has some battle scars to show for it. So I think that when he comes back, obviously I'm not expecting him to come back and just be his 100 percent self, but I'm happy to be on his side to help him kind of get there and, you know, just give my insights to the game to him as well.
What are you taking with you from your time in Philly?
KO: Yeah, for me, to the core of me, they built a lot of resilience. They built a lot of confidence within me, knowing that yeah, I could be asked to do one thing, but I could also show y'all I'm here to do whatever you asked me to do, right? You signed me for a reason.
And I kind of fell into their lap because I was going through a lot in my life, and I signed that vet min deal to go there, which I was grateful for. (Nick) Nurse and Daryl [Morey], you know, just for calling me. They called me nonstop when I was really ready to give up, and I can attest to them that they were persistent in making sure that they just spoke to me, let me know that I have a home there and an opportunity, which was great.
So I signed, sealed, and delivered that, gave my all to that city, for that jersey. But all in all, it just built a newfound confidence in me that I could battle through adversity. I can not know what tomorrow is gonna look like and still go and bring myself and let everything play out. So I think I'm thankful. I'm definitely thankful for that opportunity, but it showed me a lot about myself that I didn't know at a younger age, right?
And being able to just fight through that stuff and just kind of perform well and, you know, make an impact within the fan base and on the team. I think I've done enough, and I've done everything I could do there with the role that I was given.
Did Nick Nurse give you the Nurse pill, put the tape on the rim for you guys, and have you guys put up all those shots he is known to do?
KO: No, that wasn't one of them, because making shots wasn't necessarily our problem. I think if he had put tape on our hands for us to pass the ball a little more, I think that would have been more effective. But no, he did a lot of other things that were really cool. He's kind of like an evil genius over there. You know, he plays that Clark Kent role pretty good, and he just knows the game really well. But no, none of the extra antics that were going on, no.
You've been a 3-and-D wing, a scorer, a starter and a sixth man at different stops. Where do you feel you're at your best right now?
KO: I don't know. As I said, I'm not a coach, so obviously the team that I'm in now, they have a situation where I am a piece. I'm not one of the main pieces, of course, but at the end of the day, as long as I can start somewhere and work my way up from there, you know, I'll take it. I have never been given anything.
I've had to work for everything in my career. And each and every year it's been better and better and better. And now I'm at a stage of my career where it's getting consistently the same as far as averaging and things like that. But I still have a lot to give, and I have a lot more left that I want to show and prove. And I want to show that I'm one of these guys who've come to bless this game and to be a prominent face, you know, for a very long time, just from what I do bring to the game.
So I hope that answers your question, but when it comes to what my role would be, my role is to bring myself, the best version of myself, to the table. Whatever the coach sees in that, he'll utilize me in that. That will help him and, in turn, help me as well. So I just want to help my team win, kind of just be a rager out there, go all out, play all out, bring the passion, bring the energy. And yeah, whatever that role may be for me on the team, I know for a fact I'll be comfortable and confident in it, because I play all roles.
You did answer that question; that was just you being the veteran and knowing how to give the right answer right there, being selfless with it.
KO: Levels, though. I'm a starter in this league, you know, things like that. But at the end of the day, I'm on a team. I don't play golf. It took me a while to actually really learn what that is, you know, as a younger guy. I can have my ego speak for me and be saying a lot of loud and wrong things that make me look crazy. But you know, ball out there. Let's just go hoop. You know, we'll see what happens.
A lot of guys with your talent level have fallen out of rotations when either the fit wasn't right or things didn't go their way. What have you learned about either adapting your game or your mindset to whatever the team needs from you at this stage of your career?
KO: That's a great question. For me, man, it's just not having many expectations. You know, I wouldn't say not listening, but not allowing people to tell you things and then you see that it is completely different from what they're saying. So I kind of just take everything at face value, put the work in so that I come ready and prepared, and whatever comes my way, I'm prepared to tackle it.
But at the end of the day, man, it's not having many expectations, not allowing my ego to kind of get in the way of thinking that I'm bigger than the program. And also just understanding that, bro, everything out in this life is already written. You know, we just kind of gotta put the work in to make sure it's written in our favor, I guess, or do everything that we possibly can. And even if we do fall, we know that we did everything we could to be satisfied with ourselves.
So that's just where I'm at. Life is gonna keep living, and you know, whether I'm playing basketball or not. But I do know that I'm gonna do everything that I possibly can to make sure that I'm where I wanna be at the end of it all.
For you, what does winning look like individually this season beyond the numbers? At this point, beyond competing for a championship, what do you consider success?
KO: Well, first and foremost is to have a healthy regular season. You know, get through the regular season healthy. For me, it's learning the team, learning my new situation quickly so that it's not lingering throughout the year and I'm having to go through a lot of adversity, which is what I'm doing now, you know, in these days leading up to camp. And it's been going great.
But for me, obviously, it's sniffing the playoffs again. I've been blessed enough to scratch and claw my way to the playoffs two years out of my three years in Philly, which was even an understatement for the team that we did have. But this team was just in the Finals two years ago. So first and foremost, getting them back to the playoffs, and then having that experience of being a playoff player with a playoff team, seeing where we can go from there.
But it's gonna be a dogfight this year. I think the East is coming back pretty loaded. The West has been loaded for years. But if we sniff the playoffs, we kind of find our flow at the right time... the sky's beyond the limit for us.
What's the best piece of advice or a lesson you've learned as a player that you would pass on to a rookie or a young guy today?
KO: It's better to be seen than heard. Somebody told me that, actually. I couldn't sit here and tell you who it was. I think it was this guy named David Adkins. He was a player development coach. He actually coached Kevin Durant in the DC area when KD was growing up. But he was a player development coach in my first couple of years in DC.
And I was one of those kids, man. I would wanna roar, I would wanna chirp at the best players, talk crap, you know. And he pulled me aside one day, and he was like, you're really good. You're going at these dudes, and that's everything we want. But it's just like you're kind of making people a little, I would say he would say, making them a little uncomfortable, which, as a competitor, I'm like, I'm just talking and playing basketball.
But in the team picture, I was the youngest dude on the team coming in, being the loudest. It's not necessarily something that you want. You want people to see and respect the work that you put in, not the words that you say. So one thing I would tell a younger version of myself or a younger player is... it's better to be seen than heard, meaning put the work in, let your game speak for itself, and when it's your time to have a voice, it will be given to you. You've earned that instead of just forcing your way to have one. So that's the best, simplest advice I can give to myself or a younger player.
What is your Top 5 all-time?
KO: That's a good one right there, dude. I'm gonna go Michael Jordan, one. Kobe, two. I'm gonna have to go Julius Erving three. Kind of wing-heavy here. But I need a point guard, though. I'm gonna go Kyrie at the one. I'm gonna go me at the two. Everybody else can figure it out.
Mike and Kobe, I'll actually play the four. It's okay, I played the four in Philly. Mike and Kobe can have the two and three. I'll play the four. I think I need one more. Need a big man. Hmm.
I did say Dr. J. We're gonna have to take him out. I'm not with Philly anymore. I still love you, Doc. But I need a beast, though. Somebody's gonna block shots and run. I do like Shaq. That's the cliché answer, but I'm not gonna pick him because he just is cheating. I'm gonna go with Wilt. That's gonna run the floor well. Run the floor, definitely. Block shots. We're gonna get out in transition. Kyrie gonna play in the half court. Kobe, so we good. Yeah, I think that, I like that.
Who was your GOAT growing up and why?
KO: My GOAT growing up was Kobe. But obviously I wasn't in the generation to be able to watch Mike hoop. But my dad used to always talk about him, and I used to say Kobe was my favorite player. He used to say, you know who he got it from? Mike. So I went down the rabbit hole and saw the similarities. So I'm gonna go with: it was Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. I kinda think of him as the same person, so you know.
Reggie Miller, I remember sitting at home; I was like eight years old, seven, I just started playing basketball too. And Reggie Miller retired, and I cried. Mind you, I never really necessarily was a big Pacers fan. I did like Reggie Miller just because he could shoot. He was nimble, played hard, and he had passion. He was the only player I've ever cried for when they retired. And I remember sitting at home watching it on TV, and it was his last game or something, and I was crying.
And I thought about this the other day. I was like, wow, so I'm in Indiana now. And you know, I was crying in front of the TV when he retired. So, you know, that's a little nugget.
Can you tell me a little bit about this Call of Duty release and what's your favorite thing about it so far?
KO: Yeah, so first and foremost, big Call of Duty fan here. I've been playing my whole life, since I got my first console. And I've been able to kind of evolve my gaming with that game as well.
From my experience playing the Modern Warfare 4 game, it's unlike anything that I've played, because of the elements and the worlds that they've created within the game. So it's like they fine-tuned what works, and you know, what could be more fun in these little worlds that they have, right? And I think it's just super cool that these creative individuals are able to make such a world within the gaming community, and it brings people together. So I think it's dope.
What was your first console and what game did you play? And is that your all-time favorite COD, or what's your favorite one?
KO: My first console was a PS2. The first game that I obviously played from Call of Duty was the first Modern Warfare. And yeah, you know, just to see over the years, just to do the new style of games, the different wars or different themes that they've been able to come up with, and then the memorabilia that comes with that, right? From beating certain games, leveling up, and just kind of searching the world of, I would say, Warzone or Call of Duty, right? I was playing before there was an actual Battle Royale-type style. So to see where the world is now, I think it's just super cool to be able to engulf yourself in these different maps and, you know, just go and play with your friends, or you play by yourself. So I think that the evolution of this game is just everything, man.
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This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Kelly Oubre Q&A: 'To have a head of the snake with their head on their shoulders is very rare'
