Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter felt something off when he faced his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kanter helped the Blazers take down the Thunder and take a 1-0 series lead. However, while he is happy with the result, the Turkish center can't help but feel ‘very weird' playing his previous employer in the postseason.
“It did feel very awkward and very weird,” Kanter told reporters following his team's Game 1 win over the Thunder. “I was very nervous before the game. I tried to talk to Steven [Adams] and he didn't even look at me.”
Blazers' Enes Kanter (20 points, 18 rebounds in Game 1) on playing the Thunder, his former team: "It did feel very awkward and very weird. … I was very nervous before the game. I tried to talk to Steven [Adams] and he didn't even look at me." pic.twitter.com/bqQqGXKQQd
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 14, 2019
Enes Kanter finished the 104-99 win for the Blazers with an impressive 20-point, 18-rebound outing. Seeing more playing time in the absence of fellow starting big man Jusuf Nurkic, the former Thunder big man stepped up in a big way.
The 26-year-old Kanter started the 2018-19 campaign as a member of the lowly New York Knicks, a team that ultimately finished the regular season with the worst record in the NBA. Kanter was originally acquired by the Knicks from the Thunder, who first acquired the veteran center in a trade with the Utah Jazz. Kanter has now suited up for four teams while being traded three times.
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