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“Kelly Oubre Jr. played last year with a broken wrist, not really impressed with the hate coming out of the Bay”: Oubre Sr. takes a shot at the Warriors fans and Steve Kerr for the hate meted out to his son

Akash Murty
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"Kelly Oubre Jr. played last year with a broken wrist, not really impressed with the hate coming out of the Bay": Oubre Sr. takes a shot at the Warriors fans and Steve Kerr for the hate meted out to his son

The misfit between Warriors and Kelly Oubre Jr. led to a bad season for the forward, his constant criticism though was totally undeserving as per Oubre Sr.

Kelly Oubre Jr. had one of the worst experiences playing in one of the best franchises, namely, the Golden State Warriors. Not only did Dubs feel the misfit, even Oubre felt the same as he moved away from the Bay Area to join the Hornets as soon as he got the chance last off-season.

Like Warriors season, Oubre’s year was full of ups and downs and not what both the players himself and fans would’ve expected when the Suns’ wing joined them in the 2020 off-season.

Also read: “LaMelo Ball and Kelly Oubre Jr. just led Charlotte to the best win in organization history!”: NBA Twitter erupts as the Hornets breaks several records during their 158-126 blowout win vs the Pacers

Some fans, particularly on social media, considered his experience with the Warriors as a failure on his part. That has annoyed Kelly Oubre Sr. father of the Hornets player. In a text exchange with NBC Sports Bay Area on Thursday, Oubre Sr. criticized the franchise and the general characterization of his son.

“Not really impressed with the hate coming out of the Bay, considering the team had no real long-term plans for Kelly at all last year and beyond, which was obvious at the end,” Oubre Sr. wrote.

Kelly Oubre Jr. mistreatment was unfair as he gave his all, says Oubre Sr.

Oubre was coming off 18.7-points per game season with the Phoenix Suns, expecting to become a better player after joining Steve Kerr’s team. But what followed was radically different.

Being short of some of their important players, as bad as the Warriors did that season, they clearly looked better when playing without Junior Oubre. This was clearly noticed by the Dubs Nation. They came blazing the youngster on social media every now and then which didn’t sit well with Kelly Oubre Sr.

“Kelly played a large part of last year with a broken wrist, which never gets brought up. He loved his teammates, as he does now, and he’s happy just playing basketball for a coach who told him verbatim that he wanted him not only for his play but also for the professionalism he maintained throughout adversity. And also because of his ability to both lead and follow.”

The 6’7 forward played 55 regular-season games, starting 50 of those. He played through a torn ligament in his shooting wrist and a fracture in his hand. He was unsuccessful and ultimately got out of rotation, playing just 5 of the last 20 games.

The Warriors posting a 15-5 record during that span didn’t help his cause, as he suffered heavy criticism on social media. The back-to-back losses in the play-in tournament added fuel to it.

Also read: LaMelo Ball’s immensely improved shot selection, James Bouknight’s meteoric rise in the rotation, and much, much more: Hornets TSR Mailbag

Coach Steve Kerr seemed surprised by the displeasure expressed by Oubre Sr. but decided not responding to be a better option.

Kelly is meanwhile having a good season coming off the bench, playing around 28 minutes for Charlotte Hornets and helping with 16.7 points, 4 rebounds, and, 1.2 assists shooting a career-best 37% percent from downtown.

About the author

Akash Murty

Akash Murty

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An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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