Kelly Oubre Jr. agreed on Wednesday to a two-year, $17 million deal with the Indiana Pacers. The move gives them another wing option as they try to firm up a spot that had been viewed as a question mark heading into the 2026-27 season.
Kelly Oubre Jr. Joins Indiana Pacers
The 30-year-old spent the past three seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers, then reached this agreement during NBA Free Agency. His arrival adds a proven perimeter player to the Indiana Pacers' rotation and changes the shape of a wing group that already includes Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker and T.J. McConnell.
That is the practical part of the move. Indiana did not just add another name; it added a player who has held a larger role before and can fit as part of a deeper wing mix rather than carrying the entire burden on one end of the floor.
Kelly Oubre Jr. With Philadelphia 76ers
In the 2025-26 campaign, Oubre averaged 14.1 points, five rebounds and 1.4 steals across 50 games while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and a career-high 36 percent from three. Injuries significantly reduced his availability, but the production that did come through still showed why teams would view him as more than a short-term fill-in.
He also sounded like someone who expected to stay. After the season ended with the Philadelphia 76ers swept by the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he said he wanted to be back in Philly and loved it there.
"I feel like this is not my first rodeo. I've averaged 20 points in this league. Still found myself barely getting any contracts. But at the end of the day, I've learned so much". He also said, "The game of basketball has reinvented itself to me through different lenses and different eyes throughout my tenure here. I'm forever appreciative for the opportunity to play for this city. Obviously I don't like how it ended, so I always say I like to finish what I start. This is a bit sour for me."
Indiana Pacers Wing Fit
The fit explains the move as much as the number does. The Indiana Pacers were looking at small forward as one of their questions entering the 2026-27 season, and adding Oubre gives them another option without forcing a major reshuffle. For the Philadelphia 76ers, the departure removes a player they used over the past three seasons from a group that had been light on trustworthy, two-way wings.
The last line of this move is simple: Oubre wanted to stay, but Indiana got the deal. The Pacers now have a two-year commitment on their books, and his old team has to replace a wing role it had come to rely on.
