The Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday posted on social media that forward Kelly Oubre Jr. was “a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle in Center City, Philadelphia. He is currently in stable condition and being treated at a local hospital.”
The Sixers later said Oubre sustained a fractured rib.
However, the exact details of the incident are murky following a statement Wednesday from a Philadelphia police spokesperson who said, “The Police Department currently does not have any video or photographic evidence that depicts this collision. We continue to work in hopes of gathering evidence and we encourage anyone who has information to reach out to our crash investigation unit.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that two local businesses reviewed two hours of video footage from the area and saw no evidence of someone struck by a car.
TMZ also obtained Ring doorbell video of Oubre entering his apartment with a BMX bike and telling someone he was hit by a car.
The lack of clarity has led to speculation about what happened to Oubre and where.
Here’s what we know about the Oubre situation:
The police, who have not insinuated Oubre has been misleading, released this:
“On Saturday, 11/11/23, at 7:20 PM, a crash occurred in the 9th District at the intersection of Hicks St. and Spruce St.
“Unit #2 (pedestrian, 27/M) was walking westbound on 1400 Spruce St. crossing Hicks St. when Unit # 1 (Silver vehicle, NFI) was also traveling westbound on 1400 Spruce St. at a high rate of speed and attempted to turn south onto Hicks St. striking Unit #2, in the upper chest area with the driver side mirror. Unit #1 then fled the location south on Hicks St. PFD Medics responded to the scene and transported the pedestrian to Jefferson Hospital in stable condition with a broken rib and injuries to his hip and right leg.
“The investigation remains active and ongoing with the Crash Investigation Division.”
The intersection of Hicks and Spruce is six blocks south of city hall and four blocks from Rittenhouse Square in downtown Philadelphia.
The Sixers offered their “best to Kelly and his family as he recovers from the incident” in a social media post, and Sixers coach Nick Nurse addressed the situation before Philadelphia’s 117-107 loss to Boston on Wednesday.
“Listen, I don’t think it’s very fair to him to say that he’s made up some story,” Nurse said. “He’s one of our players, and we’re going to stand behind him. So am I.”
He also said: “If some more evidence or anything else comes to light, we’ll handle it when it comes to light.”
Oubre, 27, is a nine-year veteran who played college basketball at Kansas and was the No. 15 pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. He spent his first three-plus NBA seasons with the Washington Wizards and was traded to Phoenix. He then played for Golden State and Charlotte and signed a one-year deal with the Sixers on Sept. 26.
Oubre had career-highs in points (20.3 per game) and was off to a strong start with the Sixers this season, averaging 16.3 points and 5.1 rebounds and shooting 50% from the field and 37.8% on 3-pointers.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on social media @JeffZillgitt
