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Kelly Ubray Junior in your Sixers uniform costume for the first time. Great to see you. You are an individual very clearly right. You have this free spirited nature. Why is that individuality so important to you?
Because I think that that's what makes me me. I like to be different than everybody else, and yeah, I just.
Want to be myself.
I don't ever want to change or alter who I am as a person just because of my circumstances or who's around me.
So just try to be myself unapologetically.
You had a career year last year in Charlotte. Why the Philadelphia seventy six Ers.
I controlled a lot of my free agency, you know, whether it was me declining a lot of things and me kind of just figuring out my life.
That was all me. So you know, people don't understand that part.
But this is where God wanted me to be, and like that, I felt as if this is where I deserve to be because they wanted me here.
What was that decision making process?
Like?
Because I love to talk about this.
People think that NBA players are so larger than life and different, and in a lot of.
Ways you are.
But in some ways you're people that have to choose between different jobs and moving to different cities.
How do you make those big life decisions.
Well, you know they're made for you fifty percent of the way. But like at the end of the day, you know, I choose to do this, and you know, this is what I've been doing with my life. So when you put it in that perspective, now that I have a family and I'm not just myself as a young bachelor's like, you have to pretty much weigh a lot of options and make decisions not just for you, but for your family and everybody else around you, because without them supporting me, I wouldn't be here.
Right.
Everybody's handling things as far as moving and getting everything done, man, So it's really hard on everybody, not just the player. And yeah, it just kind of just got to take it as it comes, man, and not try to force anything but just let it flow.
You mentioned Nick Ner, Yeah, he's a big topic today. The new head coach seventy six ers. What are your impressions of him so far and what made you want to play for him?
Man, I just respect him so much just from being on opposing teams and how he gets his guys ready for war every single night, and how he just has his culture set up. Every organization that you know he's coached at, he's had a culture and that's very rare, you know, being on a couple of teams in my career so far, like culture is the biggest thing because that's the foundation of you know, how you arrive in the gym or into.
A new city.
And Coach Nurse is very well spoken, very respectable, and you know, he just knows the game and he knows how to win. So those are just things that check off all the boxes as a coach that I would love.
To play for and you know, I'm.
Looking forward to it many many years from now when you retire. How do you want to be remembered by your teammates, by people you worked with, by fans?
What do you want people to remember about Kelly Oubrey That I'm.
A hard worker, a great guy, and I have a genuine heart.
And you know, I don't put on any facades around people on myself, I just want to be known for being myself and inspiring people to be themselves as well, because I feel like it's a lot of smoke and mirrors and a lot of things can get you know, unsaid or you know, you have to put on the mask every day. But at the end of the day, like, we're human beings and I just want people to remember me as a human being.
You have a history of friendship with Tobias Harris, if I'm not mistaken. How exciting is it to get to play with him now?
It's really exciting, man. It's a blessing to be here, to be able to see him such a cool dude, Like he just very relaxed and chill, and he makes you feel that same energy, you know, and you know, us being kind of like brothers in a sense for a very long time, it's really cool to kind of, you know, go through what we've gone through in our tenure and just to be on the same team and the same side.
It's going to be really fun. But at the end of the day, man, we're.
Here for a job, and I think we both understand that, and we both put in the work.
And you know, to do so.
Logistically speaking, Tobias has now been in Philly for a long time. He knows all the best spots, coffee restaurants, where you shot up, who you need for different things.
Has he been helpful in the transition.
I've been kind of just taking it slowly, letting everything kind of come to me. Asking a person and a lot of our messages, a lot of our communication was through texts and seeing each other on the road. But now that I'm here, man, I'm gonna pick his brain and yeah, he'll he'll have to give me the whole list.
And run down all right.
So let's imagine, and this is something I did with the guys last year before here. Yet, let's imagine that you can construct your dream dinner table. So sharp left out of the basketball, come right right, dream dinner table. Anybody dead or alive? You get four invites? Who's sitting at the table with you?
One Bruce Lee, two Michael Jordan, three Kobe Bryant.
Four prints.
That's for it.
How many said that was quick? Yeah, I'm gonna go with those four.
Care to elaborate on any of those?
Well, Michael Kobe using going to debate on who's better, and you know, who worked harder things, who won more?
Wh but you need to be.
Around that type of stuff in order to for that to be contagious. Right, Bruce Lee is gonna talk about, you know, being water and flowing and you know, just letting everything come to you and not forcing anything, And Princess, we're gonna just talk spirituality and rhythm and music.
So I think that's my dream for for sure.
Yeah, thanks for sharing, Thanks for having me appreciate you.
All right, Rapid Fire, you have to trade closets with one of your teammates for the whole season.
Whose closet are you taking on?
Whose closet am I taking on? That's tough. I'm gonna go with PJS. That's like them all right there? You know straight up?
Whose closet would at least like to inherit?
JoJo's That would be size seven X drowning.
Yeah. If you have to pick a teammate to babysit, who would it be?
Hmm, that's a great question.
I'm gonna go with Anthony Melton though, because we played together in Phoenix and I don't have to worry about him.
He's a great kid.
If you had to trust someone to cook you a three course meal, who would you let cook.
Oh my geeesh, I don't know. Man. Shoot, that's a good one. That's a good one.
I wouldn't have to go with Daniel House because he has a million kids and like he has to be able to feed them.
So I know he could cook something, at least a mac and cheese something.
So, sticking with the food theme, if you guys all had to take over his weight staff in a restaurant for the night, who do you think would get the most tips?
Me?
If you had to pick a roommate, Let's say the NBA implemented a roommate policy, we're cutting back in the budget. Man, you had to pick a roommate for the season, who would you pick?
I'm gonna go with the Anthony Meldon again. Man's funny guy, great, great dude, you know, and you know, wait into the same stuff, so that'd be cool.
Let's say you guys had superpowers for five hours. Who would solve the most rimes? Kelly me, Who do you think has the most unread texts?
Probably I would say Joel Embiid He don't talk to nobody.
Who do you think would make the best NFL quarterback?
Sir Tyrese Maxie who.
Do you think would be the best poet Kelly Bridge. If you had to pick a double's tennis partner, who would you play with?
Oh, that's a great question. Who's agile? I'll play fart. I just feel like, you know, coming from Europe and hit. They bleed tennis and stuff, so I'll go home.
The Apocalypse hits. Who survives the longest? Me Kelly Junior, Thank you so much.