There's one main reason former unrestricted free agent center Enes Kanter signed with the Boston Celtics in the offseason: to win an NBA title.

In a Q&A with HoopsHype, Kanter, 27, hyped up his new team, claiming the Celtics are legitimate contenders in the NBA despite the loss of All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Al Horford.

The reason I went [to Boston] is for a championship. I feel like the team is really young and willing to learn and we have an amazing group of guys. I feel like we can beat any team on any floor. All we have to do is just be good friends and stay together. Let’s just go have fun! It’s definitely going to be a very, very exciting season.

Kanter, who's been battling Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently had a free basketball camp for children preemptively closed on Long Island, where it was set to be hosted by a local Muslim community center. Kanter found assistance in Congress with Rep. Kathleen Rice coming to his side, defending Kanter's philanthropic summer activity. Senators Ron Wyden (D – Ore.) and Ed Markey (D – Mass.) also came to Kanter's defense.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-11 center also provided insight in his free agency process, including why winning is the core reason he pursues basketball:

It’s my ninth year in the league and I understand that, for many people, the money is important. For me, the most important thing is being with a team that you’re really happy on and playing with a team that’s competing for a championship. That’s was the big thing for me. For everybody else, the money matters [more]. For me, the No. 1 thing was winning.

Kanter will enter his ninth season in the NBA and his first with the Celtics this upcoming fall and hopes to be an imposing offensive foil for the team down low alongside newly signed point guard Kemba Walker.