Woj: Kelly Oubre Jr. struck by car in Philadelphia, 76ers officially cursed

Ryan Conway
November 11, 2023
Sixers
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Sixers forward and offensive sparkplug Kelly Oubre Jr. was struck by a vehicle while walking near his residence in Philadelphia, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He is currently in stable condition at the hospital and is expected to miss a decent amount of time while he recovers.

Woj broke the news regarding Kelly Oubre Jr.’s accident on Twitter, sending Sixers fans into an emotional spiral:

Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. was a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle in Center City, Philadelphia tonight and is receiving treatment at a local hospital, a Sixers spokesman tells ESPN. Oubre Jr., is currently in stable condition. pic.twitter.com/Mqxjew1Opy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 12, 2023

Fuck, man. This is just brutal. He’s been entertaining to watch throughout his whole career and fits perfectly with what the Sixers are looking to do this season.

Oubre Jr. has been on five teams during his NBA career and has never found a long-term home. This season with the Sixers was the perfect chance for him to show what he can do and land a multi-year contract in the offseason.

Fortunately, his injuries aren’t season-ending, so he very well could still earn that contract. But to lose a large chunk of a pivotal year of his career via a freak accident is simply awful.

He has plenty of time left at only 27 years old, but your heart still has to break for the guy. Plus, this sucks for the Sixers as a whole, as Kelly Oubre was shaping up to be an integral part of a special group.

This is also just another example of the danger cars and, more importantly, the people who drive them pose in cities across the country. We see stories about cyclists and pedestrians being hit by cars far too often in Philadelphia.

Hell, Kelly Oubre isn’t even the first athlete to have a run-in with the operator of a motor vehicle in the last year or so. AJ Brown got hit by a driver going through an intersection while riding his bike for the Eagles Autism Challenge.

Philly Drivers almost took out AJ Brown too. Can’t make this shit up. 😭 pic.twitter.com/GgUIj99m8o
— Drew Smith (@drewmsmith) November 12, 2023

I don’t have a solution to this problem off the top of my head, but as The Liberty Line’s resident amateur urbanist, I have some ideas.

If you want cars off the road, give the people a different way to travel. Transit in Philly is alright, but it could be so much better. Plus, intersections need to be set up better so drivers don’t have an obstructed view as they move through them.

Obviously, you’re never going to eliminate cars. That’s not what I’m calling for. I’m just asking for some fucking common sense from the City so people stop getting hurt in totally avoidable ways.

Also, we need to track this son of a bitch down and find out what he knows about who did this to Kelly Oubre. No one can escape the long arm of the law.