March 29, 2026, 3:08 p.m. ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Philadelphia 76ers got healthier on Saturday night as they welcomed Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. back to the lineup as they took on the Charlotte Hornets to begin their 3-game road trip. The Sixers earned an important win as they look to continue making the climb out of the play-in and into the top 6 in the East.

Coming off the bench after missing two weeks due to a left elbow sprain, Oubre had nine points and five rebounds in 28 minutes. He had some good defensive moments and was helpful for Philadelphia in a number of different areas to help the Sixers get the job done.

“I felt great,” Oubre said after playing for the first time since March 10. “Conditioning was better than I expected, and, yeah, just trying to let the game come and find a flow, but just kind of rolling with the punches as they made their runs. I was able to stay in there a little longer. I was able to kind of get my feet under me.”

At this point in his career, Oubre is looking to help a team make a deep run. He has seen a lot in his 11 years in the league and the Sixers offer a great opportunity for him to go deep into the playoffs and make an impact on the floor. He knew as long as he was able to shoot the ball and move around a bit, he was going to be ready to go.

“It’s all mental at this point,” he explained. “I’m in year 11 of my career, and I just put the work in. I know I trust myself. It’s about staying confident, which I was. Once I was able to shoot, I put up 100 plus jumpers a day. I did as much dribbling as I possibly could, to feel comfortable, and just allowed the muscle memory to take me in the game and figure that out from there, but, yeah, it’s just about staying mentally ready rather than over physically.”

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Being around younger guys such as VJ Edgecombe, Quentin Grimes, Justin Edwards, and others gave Oubre some life. He is a guy who feeds off good energy and vibes and he certainly was able to do so on Saturday to help Philadelphia get the job done.

“I stayed in that mode, and I was around the guys the whole time that I was out,” he finished. “So I was able to feed off VJ’s energy, feed off Q’s energy, and everybody that was holding it down and just coming back and fitting in seamless with my group.”