Jan. 25, 2026, 11:04 a.m. ET

PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers recently made a change in the starting lineup as coach Nick Nurse decided to insert Kelly Oubre Jr. into the lineup and bring Dominick Barlow off the bench.

Barlow, a two-way player, had started 29 games up to that point before Nurse decided to make the change in Thursday’s win over the Houston Rockets. Barlow has produced off the bench both against the Rockets and in Saturday’s loss to the New York Knicks so the big man has taken the change in his role in stride.

“My role is still the same,” Barlow explained. “Just playing with different lineups. So I think try to find a way to just bring what I do best to a different lineup. I think that’s the challenge for myself to try and figure out. But communication-wise, it’s just matchup based. Kelly’s playing really well.”

It isn’t like Barlow was playing poorly, but Oubre is somebody who is a willing shooter and can knock down the 3-ball at a higher rate which means opponents will have to pay more attention to him compared to somebody like Barlow. The Sixers need that type of production, and Barlow understands that as he has kept things pushing while receiving praise from Oubre for his professionalism.

“I just think being, like, respectful,” Barlow said. “I mean, Kelly’s my teammate. He’s playing well. He’s been started in the league a long time. So, it’s not, like, shocking to me that a guy’s that’s averaging 15 for us is, obviously, starting.”

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When Barlow enters the game off the bench, the Sixers will continue to look to him to provide a ton of energy, grab key rebounds, create extra possessions, and give this team a big spark just as he did as a starter.

“My goal is to, like, just be a positive basketball player,” he added. “Whether that’s coming off the bench, starting, five minutes or playing 40 minutes, like I just want to affect the game positively. So I think that’s my only goal right now. Everything else is kind of up for other people to talk, but I’m just going to focus on myself and how I can help the team.”

Barlow and the Sixers will take on the Charlotte Hornets on the road on Monday looking to get back in the win column.