Kelly Oubre Jr. is Washington’s working artist
By David Ramil
Kelly Oubre, Jr. eases back into a row of courtside seats wearing the most innocuous of accessories draped across his shoulders — a well-worn towel, drenched in sweat. It doesn’t quite fit the image of a man with tastes that range from the eclectic to the confrontational. And yet, it symbolizes a lifetime of struggle and dedication and, in doing so, might be the one fashion statement that defines him best.
The towel also represents an additional contrast. Oubre sits with such a casual, dreamy air about him that you’d hardly know he had just gone through an arduous practice. His answers aren’t so much delivered as they are flickering with an almost lyrical quality. In his third year with the Washington Wizards and in an ever-expanding role, he describes his evolution “as a beautiful thing” with a distant admiration, almost as if viewing himself from afar. He continues, “I’m trying to get better every day and that’s what I work for,” adding poetically, “putting more pressure on myself so I can be diamonds one day.”
This is the duality of Oubre’s nature; the gritty yeoman on the hardwood and a musical clotheshorse off it. It’s the former, according to Oubre himself, that truly personifies him. “I am a basketball player that happens to be an artist. God created me with different, multiple elements that I try to be great at. And I just feel like I’m going to reach my full potential in this life, so I’m going to be great at anything I put my hands on.”
The answer is so earnest that you forget it’s the latter aspect that gets the most publicity. That is, until he adds, “I have the Midas Touch, honestly.”
Things haven’t always been golden for Oubre. He was only a child when his father packed their belongings and escaped New Orleans the night before Hurricane Katrina left another permanent scar on the Crescent City. They headed west towards Houston, and would spend restless, angsty weeks in a cockroach-riddled motel filled with evacuees. There were difficult adjustments to be made in a new, unfamiliar city and without the money that smooths those changes. And while Oubre, Jr. and his father remained in Houston throughout his childhood, they never quite settled, moving from house to house, searching for better opportunities.
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The scarring extended to Oubre, Jr., who recently disclosed his struggle with anxiety and depression. If there was a starting point to his duality, it was in the years following his exodus from New Orleans, in the nights spent dreaming of success following days filled with tireless, desperate work. “I’m really good at keeping a poker face because when I was growing up my dad always told me ‘don’t let anybody see you weak.’ Nobody sees that I’m weak, but deep down inside I am going through a lot. Hell is turning over.”
Oubre has done his best to harness that inner turmoil, “There are a lot of things that, y’know, we have to deal with on a daily basis. If you know me, you know that I hold things in and re-channel that energy into something positive on the court.” There is an undeniable edge to his game, one Oubre admits has sometimes gotten the best of him.
Helping sharpen that edge is Drew Hanlen, the founder and CEO of Pure Sweat Basketball, a company that trains a growing list of NBA clients, including Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Zach LaVine and Oubre’s teammate with the Wizards, Bradley Beal. Hanlen began working with Oubre when the latter entered the 2015 NBA Draft after one year at the University of Kansas.
Though Hanlen considers the former Jayhawk a good friend, he’s learned that the separate sides of Oubre aren’t as conflicting as they might appear. “I let people be who they are off the court. He loves basketball, he loves his dogs and loves fashion,” noting that those other interests aren’t much of a distraction because “basketball always comes first.”
Offseason workouts began early. Hours of drills would lead to more hours of intense weightlifting. They’d close the day as late as 10 p.m. by hoisting shot after repetitive shot.
When asked to summarize Oubre’s growth, Hanlen’s response predictably lacks the latter’s flair. “He’s going to be an All-Star one day and one of the better two-way players in the league.”
Considering that Oubre mostly plays a reserve role while averaging 12.0 points per game, that assessment might seem a bit hyperbolic. But Hanlen insists this is all part of a long-term plan of gradual progress. “We had a three-year plan that focused on improving his shooting consistency from [3-point range], improving his ability to guard multiple positions and improving his ability to attack closeouts so he could become a good “3-and-D” player.” As for those All-Star aspirations, Hanlen explains, “It’ll take a few years to get there but we’re focused on continuous small improvements that lead to big improvements over time. He needs to improve his playmaking ability, add strength to his body and improve his shot making ability off the dribble to get there.” Expanding Oubre’s game, says Hanlen, is the goal for this summer.
The Wizards can’t wait for the offseason, of course. The team has been maddeningly inconsistent of late, as the return and re-integration of John Wall looms large in the postseason landscape. In late January, a promising 5-0 stint after Wall was injured inflamed notions that Washington was better off him. But the Wizards have regressed to much more realistic 15-12 in the games Wall has missed, sinking further in the Eastern Conference standings.
Oubre, for his part, is still struggling to find consistency on the court. The improvements Hanlen spoke of were evident early in the season; through the end of January, Oubre was shooting 39.5 percent on his 3-point attempts. In the two months since, he’s shot 27.5 percent.
Beal, the first-time All-Star whose own games has fluctuated in Wall’s absence, still has faith in Oubre’s impact, particularly on the defensive end. “He is highly important to what we do. His role is changing as he’s being incorporated more and more as the year goes on. In practice, he goes up to against me and challenges me to help us both get better. He’s our best defender and that’s something I tell him everyday.” His upside, adds Beal slightly evoking his teammate’s lyricism, is “beyond the sky.”
Oubre’s inconsistency is like the struggles of any other 22-year-old finding their way in the NBA, but his off-the-court interests add a dynamic that muddle the lens through which he is viewed. His mistakes are dismissed as mental ones. His antics the result of spaciness that can flare hotly during inopportune moments. It’s impossible to know if Oubre’s thoughts flow as abstractly as his words, or if this is simply a crafted public persona that sometimes works against him, another layer of a carefully-chosen ensemble meant to be provocative.
He brushes off the implication, not impolitely, instead shifting the focus back to the game itself. “I mean, if it wasn’t for basketball, everyone wouldn’t even know anything about my interests. Basketball is my platform. Basketball is my first love. Without basketball, I’m nothing. I’m just…I am me. I’m unique, and I am me off-the-court but, at the end of the day, if it wasn’t for basketball, you wouldn’t even see that side of me.” His words ring true, spoken with a sincerity that turns that muddled lens back on the viewer.
Oubre’s social media posts all end the same way, with an ubiquitous #Shhh. The meaning, as Oubre explained, is to quiet those that speak too often and say nothing. “Honestly, it’s just a message for me and the people that truly understand that we can do all the talking in the world and say the right things but unless our actions show what we’re talking about, it means nothing.”
Considering his occasional lapses, asking to be judged by his actions might seem risky but Oubre seems up for the challenge. “I’m feeling pretty good,” he says through a breezy smile, “I’m 22, still young and still enjoying it.” In that sense, he seems every bit the artist, content with his art — and improving it — even as critics focus on its flaws. That his canvas is the hardwood changes things, however, for basketball is a medium that demands more than creativity. Oubre might have the Midas touch both on and off the court, but it’s the calluses on his hands that will make his career a golden one someday.