(Photo: Joe Glorioso)
Underneath the stands of Capital One Arena, the Washington Wizards players exit the locker room, and jump around and loosen up for a minute before one final huddle just minutes before taking the court for warm-ups. Fans are filing into their seats getting ready to watch their Wizards play, some just waiting in anticipation for their team to take the court. The players huddle, go “one, two, three. … Team!” and one of their players is the first to break out the huddle and starts dabbing. But this dab isn’t quite like the one Cam Newton does when he scores touchdowns. This particular dab is one where he uses one arm, and then the other quickly going back and fourth. Finally. he jumps so high you can’t tell if he’s going up for a dunk or going over a hurdle on a race track.
That energy of that dab comes from Kelly Oubre Jr. Whether it’s his pre-warmup dabs, his fresh and unique wardrobe selection, or his handshakes with Bradley Beal after the player intros, Oubre is solidifying his case as the waviest player in the NBA.
Kelly Oubre Jr.’s NBA journey began in a strange way on draft night. After a successful freshman year at Kansas where he averaged 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game, Oubre declared for the NBA Draft. Oubre was drafted by the Hawks in the first round at 15th overall but his time with Atlanta would end in the literal blink of an eye. Oubre’s draft rights were traded to the Wizards in exchange for draft rights to the 19th pick, Jerian Grant, and two second round draft picks.
That July, Oubre joined the team for the Vegas Summer League and averaged 16.8 points and 5.7 rebounds. Oubre didn’t play much in his rookie season, averaging just 10.7 minutes a night in 63 appearances but he did have a few good games. His best game came on Dec. 16 of that season as he scored 18 points in a road loss to the Spurs. During that month of December, Oubre started in five games due to injuries to some key players that season such as Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr. among others.
Oubre once again partook in summer league action before his second season and would earn All-NBA Summer League Second Team honors. When the game’s counted beginning that fall, Oubre appeared in 79 of the Wizards 82 regular season games and averaged 20.3 minutes a game. Coming off the bench, he scored 6.3 points per game and was one of the few positive of an otherwise lackluster second unit.
During the playoffs, Oubre made headlines during Game 4 of the Wizards second round series against the Boston Celtics. Trailing 2-0 with the series back in DC, the Wizards needed a spark to fire up their team and Oubre provided it. After he got tripped by Kelly Olynyk, Oubre got up and shoved him into the floor drawing the Wizards faithful out of their seats.
Oubre’s third season has been his best season by far. In his 35 games played, 23 of them Oubre scored in double figures including against marquee teams such as the Warriors (19), the Cavaliers (21 on Nov. 5, and 11 on Dec. 17), and the Celtics (Christmas).
While LeBron James was the big star of the show in that November Cavs matchup, Oubre had a stellar night of his own in the 21-point performance that Wizards head coach Scott Brooks commended after the game:
“He’s growing up right in front of our eyes. The maturity level, being a consistent pro on the court, is getting better night in and night out. Going to continue to develop and work with him and try to get him better as the season goes on. Then next season he’s going to get even better. That’s the good thing about our group, we have a pretty big window with a lot of guys that should get better every year.”
Oubre’s 21-point performance was a then career-high until he eclipsed that later in the month with a 22-point game in a loss to the 76ers.
Oubre Jr. was the biggest factor on the bench on the biggest stage the Wizards have played on thus far this season: Christmas Day in Boston in their first meeting with the Celtics since that heartbreaking Game 7 in May.
Oubre chipped in 16 of the reserve’s 20 points along with five rebounds in 32 minutes of action. Seven of those 16 points came in the final quarter.
“Kelly, you can see it throughout games and this is another game that he grew up. You can just see his development, his growth, his belief of just staying solid was a huge part of our win and sometimes he gets a little ambitious and overzealous and looks to get steals and try to get out in transition. But he’s solid, he can use his length and tonight I thought he was solid throughout the game,” said Brooks.
With the Wizards down five, 95-90, in a hostile road environment, Oubre accounted for both a layup and a three during a 12-0 run by the visitors to take command of the game and would later provide an exclamation point with a dunk. Oubre’s three gave the Wizards the lead for good.
“I felt a little nostalgic out there. It brought me back to the playoffs and all the good memories that we have in here. The fans chanting crazy stuff, it just brought me back to a place where.. you know, it got me locked in man like it was the playoffs. It was a great atmosphere out there,” said Oubre.
“John was playing really well, Brad was playing really well, Otto was playing exceptionally well. We just had a full team of contributions and once you see another guy playing well, it gives you that juice and that energy to play well as well,” Oubre added.
It’s been a topsy turvy roller coaster season for the Wizards but Oubre has been one of the bright spots. With posting career highs on the court and providing the energy the Wizards need to get ready for the game, the team could use Oubre’s positive vibes as they look to turn their season around.