The Phoenix Suns announced last week that Kelly Oubre Jr. would miss the remainder of the season following a procedure on his sprained left thumb, but the man known as Tsunami Papi still plans to make an impact from the sidelines.
Since arriving in Phoenix, Oubre’s averaged a career-high 16.9 points with 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.0 block in 40 games, but beyond the numbers, Oubre has helped develop and grow the Suns culture inside their locker room.
“That’s one thing I can say Kelly did a great job,” Deandre Ayton said about his teammate. “Energy wise he changed this whole team around. He’s making everybody embrace being a family. We don’t always have to be in each other’s business every day, in everybody’s grill, but you can embrace one another even though we get tired of each other during practice. He has that an energy to where we are all brothers.”
Not only did Oubre bring energy and charisma with him from Washington, but he also developed a special bond with each of his new teammates in the form of individualized handshakes.
“I had that with the Wizards,” Oubre said. “I was like the handshake guy. It’s cool though, because it creates that bond. Once you have a handshake with somebody and you forget it, that means you don’t really care about the person. So you’ve got to put forth the energy to remember the handshake and do it every time you see that person.”
The trend caught on quickly in the locker room as the rest of the Suns quickly joined in developing handshakes with each other as they continued to grow closer together.
“Everybody wants to make a handshake,” Ayton said. “That’s real bonding. I see how he does it. It’s a different expression when someone like him comes out of nowhere and starts making handshakes with somebody, it’s bonding.”
In just a few months, Oubre has quickly made an impression on Suns fans, nothcing career-highs in almost every statistical category as he’s made the most of his opportunity in The Valley.
“It’s a good fit for me,” Oubre said. “It’s been a little more opportunity here in Phoenix when it comes to trust. I was one of the youngest on the team over (in Washington) … Coming to Phoenix, I pretty much just let my wings soar. I’m going to continue to do that. I know I’m capable of competing with the best and potentially being the best one day and I’m just going to pursue that.”
Oubre was playing the best basketball of his career, including scoring a career-high 32 points in a win against the New Orleans Pelicans in what turned out to be his final game of the season before learning he would need surgery on his thumb.
“To be honest with you, I was really upset,” Oubre said. “That’s terrible news. I love going out to war and fighting with my brothers every night. When I got the news that I was going to be out for the full season, I was really upset, but the doctor knows best. I just had to figure out what the best thing for me moving forward and that was getting surgery.”
It has been a challenging year for Oubre dealing with personal issues, being traded midway through the season and now having it end early due to injury. While he’s been forced to make many adjustments throughout his life in a short span, Oubre has kept a positive outlook and continues to push forward.
“I can get through any type of adversity,” Oubre said. “I’ve proven to myself that throughout my whole life. This past year has been pretty tough for me. Starting the year off losing my grandma and everything that transpired after that. I got through it. I didn’t get any handouts along the way. Nobody felt sorry for me and I don’t ask anybody to, but at the end of the day I’m going to continue to be positive. I’m going to continue to just be in the moment and just continue to try to be great.”
While he can no longer impact the game on the court, Oubre is continuing to bring that same energy and support from the sidelines.
“I’m going to still scream on every dunk,” Oubre said. “I’m going to still do all my antics and everything, but kind of just let my energy be felt through the sidelines. It’s kind of my next challenge that I will conquer. I’m excited for it. Just help my team any way I can.”
Even though he is still relatively new to the team, Oubre has been credited for stepping up as a leader and helping push the Suns young core to a new level. The Suns have shown a lot progress since his arrival, but Oubre doesn’t want to take all the credit.
“When I got to the team, the guys were already on a four-game winning streak,” Oubre said. “They already found that in themselves. I didn’t do anything differently. I just came in and saw that they already had that in them. We just kept at it every single game.”
The next step for Tsunami Papi and the Suns will be building off the highs from this season and starting strong to begin next year.
“We found something within ourselves that we can carry into next season,” Oubre said. “If you start the season strong, you create an identity early, the rest is history. You’re going to get used to winning. Right now, that’s our goal.”