Inside Sixers: Nico Batum’s decision, Kelly Oubre Jr.’s unfinished business, and more after Game 6 defeat

Before Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey fielded end-of-season questions together in a move that felt convenient and symbolic, Maxey wheeled his chair over to Embiid’s locker for their final postgame chat of the 2023-24 season.

Nico Batum, meanwhile, lingered even after he had finished his icing routine. On the opposite side of the room, Kyle Lowry remained in his jersey.

Disappointment permeated the 76ers’ locker room following their Game 6 loss to the New York Knicks to end a first-round playoff series that was rugged, and thrilling, and perpetually down-to-the-wire. But that feeling was not overtaken by anger or tension that was palpable to outsiders in years past. Or by head-scratching comments about the ball not finding a certain point guard. Or by the swirling uncertainty about whether a coach would be fired. The Sixers simply got beat in a series with a cumulative one-point differential.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey aren’t enough. The Sixers need something even more important.

“It [expletive] sucks,” starting forward Kelly Oubre Jr. said, calmly. “At the end of the day, you store that into a core memory and then use as fuel moving forward.”

Before the Sixers turn to what is primed to be a fascinating offseason, here are some scenes that peppered the hours after their season-ending defeat:

Batum dropped his head and chuckled when the first question tossed his way was the most significant one: “Is this it?”

“No, it’s not,” Embiid interjected. “You’re coming back to the Sixers.”

The 35-year-old Batum has been periodically peppered with inquiries about possible retirement following this season, including when he missed time for personal reasons immediately after the blockbuster trade that brought him to Philadelphia and when he returned to Los Angeles for the first time with the Sixers in March.

The immediate focus, Batum said Thursday, is on the Olympics with the French national team. Yet he already was able to reflect on his “crazy year.” It was his first time being traded in-season during his 16-year NBA career, when included as part of the return package for James Harden from the Clippers. And as someone who grew up in the ‘90s and once owned the iconic black Allen Iverson jersey, he appreciated playing for the Sixers.

“One thing I’ve learned is Philly is not for everybody, though,” Batum said. “You’ve got to be ready to play for that city, and I loved it. … I could feel the passion of this city for sports, for the Sixers. And I [felt] it right away, my first game against the Wizards. I [came] in and could feel it.

“And those fans, even when they’re not happy, you get booed, but I understand why. … I tried to [say to myself], ‘OK, they’re right. Because we suck right now, so we’ve got to play better.’”

Batum has been a quintessential glue guy for the Sixers, with skills such as post-entry passing, defensive versatility, and long-range shooting complementing his calm demeanor. He scored a season-high 20 points in the play-in victory against the Miami Heat to advance to the first-round series against the Knicks. He spent much of that series guarding Jalen Brunson, including a key block on the MVP candidate’s driving attempt at the end of regulation in Game 5. Then, Batum totaled 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting in Thursday’s Game 6.

For a guy who has seen a lot, in the NBA and internationally, Batum acknowledged: “This series was insane.”

“Congrats to [the Knicks],” Batum added. “They played great. Brunson was amazing. But every game could have gone [either way].”

The last time Buddy Hield had a “podium game” — aka, a performance worthy of a formal news conference — he brought his daughter to the microphone.

She was too shy to join late Thursday. That’s OK. Dad deserved the spotlight on his own.

» READ MORE: Tyrese Maxey can’t replicate his Game 5 magic, but inspires belief following an All-Star leap

After scoring just two points over this series’ first three games — then getting benched for Games 4 and 5 — Hield exploded for 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from long range in Game 6 to spearhead the Sixers’ first-half rally. As he stepped to the free-throw line just before halftime, chants of “Buddy! Buddy! Buddy!” rang through the arena.

“Even though [the game] didn’t end up going how I wanted it to go,” Hield said, “we didn’t get a ‘W,’ but I feel like I had an opportunity to play and just make a name for myself and show who I am.

“I’m a true testament of just keep on staying ready and putting the work in [for] hours and hours.”

It was a positive personal cap to an inconsistent season, when he joined the Sixers from the Indiana Pacers at the trade deadline.

Hield achieved iron-man status by playing in a rare 85 games before the playoffs, thanks to the Pacers’ run to the NBA In-Season Tournament final and the Sixers’ play-in appearance. Then, the 31-year-old was eager to finally get his first playoff experience in his eighth NBA season.

And even after he was removed from the rotation, he maintained his meticulous pregame and post-practice routine that, ahead of Tuesday’s Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, left his gray tank top drenched in sweat. Later that night, Hield garnered unprompted praise from Maxey for his late-game encouragement, after Maxey was upset with himself after missing crunch-time free throws before his seven-point flurry to force overtime.

Hield’s steady approach was rewarded with a productive final game. In the playoffs, he learned that “every possession matters. Every rebound; every hustle play.”

And he said he hopes to return to the Sixers in free agency.

“Philly, they traded for me,” Hield said. “I feel like they wanted me, too. To me, I looked at it as I came to the party late. I think you guys understand what I’m saying. There [were] a lot of injuries. Before I was here, the team was rolling.”

Oubre stood in front of his locker and recited a mantra from one of his former coaches, Monty Williams, saying that “everything you want is on the other side of hard.”

That’s why the starting wing was willing to bask in the feeling of unfinished business, a reason he is interested in returning to the Sixers as a free agent. He went from signing a veteran minimum contract in September to becoming a key complementary player on both ends of the floor. He averaged 15.4 points and five rebounds per game, in a season that was interrupted by a broken rib because of a reported hit-and-run accident.

“I want to go somewhere where they respect and they love me,” said Oubre, who added that he currently is representing himself. “Ain’t nothing but love here, of course. [There is] a lot of work to be done to get better and to get us back here past this point, that [second-round] threshold that Sixers fans have been wanting to get past for so long.

“I feel as if I kind of failed because we didn’t get past that.”

The “hard” of this first-round series? He was another primary defender on Brunson.

Though the eye test revealed that Oubre often was strong in that assignment, such as when he flashed a smile after poking the ball away and streaking for a breakaway dunk on Thursday, the forward lamented that Brunson finished the series with three consecutive 40-point games. Oubre added he is looking forward to examining what Brunson “did to change his style” after struggling from the floor in Games 1 and 2.

“I want to guard the best players,” Oubre said, “and I want to go at them if they decide to guard me.”

» READ MORE: Sixers-Knicks Game 6 takeaways: Jalen Brunson’s huge shots, Tobias Harris’ worst game, Philly’s reality check

On Friday afternoon, a practice gym that had been populated for months with hollers from players and coaches, with bouncing balls, with a live DJ soundtrack, mostly was silent — until nonrotation Sixers met with gathered reporters.

De’Anthony Melton — who said he “would love” to return to the Sixers in free agency — spoke about working on strengthening his back and surrounding muscles after he was sidelined with a spine issue for the bulk of the past four months.

KJ Martin, meanwhile, was candidly less committal about remaining in Philly, acknowledging the number of expiring contracts on the roster. But the athletic wing will spend this summer continuing to work on his jump shot and putting the ball on the floor.

Ricky Council IV, Jeff Dowtin Jr., and Terquavion Smith broke down life shuffling between the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats and Sixers.

But first, reserve big man Mo Bamba and his teammates will immediately process dropping an intense, competitive series.

“It’s kind of weird to say, but it’s kind of like death,” Bamba said. “Everybody grieves a little bit differently. No one’s happy, and we all truly believe we should be on that damn train heading to New York right now …

“But at the same time, everybody’s kind of thankful for how things went. Guys got to the finish line without losing their minds or being hurt, and you can say that for everybody around the organization. It takes a toll on everybody.

“It’ll be a little bit easier a couple days from now, but I think the first couple days are just like, ‘Damn.’”