Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter had choice words about the reported phone call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The topic of the call was possible cooperation in space technology.
Yo @elonmusk !!
Y’all planing to build the first jail in Mars or something ? https://t.co/L78tQwmBBk
— Enes FREEDOM (@EnesFreedom) January 28, 2021
Beef between players is a common sight and has been for the longest time. Beef between an NBA player and a country's head of state is rare, but the Blazers center Kanter and Erdoğan take it up a notch.
Kanter is an outspoken critic of Erdoğan. This has led to the center being designated as persona non grata in Turkey. Additionally, his passport was revoked last 2017. Traveling abroad has become a huge challenge for Kanter, as there is a possibility of arrest. This includes games that involve his team traveling to play against the Toronto Raptors. Daily death threats have become the norm. He also claims his family has also been adversely affected. He has not been able to contact his family for years now.
The Blazers big man is a seasoned veteran, who entered the league in 2011. Kanter has also suited up for the Utah Jazz, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, and Boston Celtics. His calling card was and is still interior scoring and gobbling up boards. This season, he has done just that with averages of 10.3 points, 10.2 boards, and 1.2 assists per game, while maintaining over 60 percent shooting from the field. With starter Jusuf Nurkić out with an injury, Portland has had to lean on Kanter more than expected. The Blazers are gunning for another deep playoff run similar to the 2018-19 season, where they reached the Western Conference Finals.
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