The offseason provided veteran big man Enes Kanter an opportunity to refocus his attention toward his physical conditioning as he got in better shape by losing a significant amount of weight.
During a recent interview with Marc Berman of the New York Post, Kanter voiced that already feels the benefits of the weight loss ahead of this upcoming season.
“I feel better now, feel more energy, moving faster,’’ Kanter said. “It’s my thing. I gain 20 pounds and then lose it.”
“When I lose weight, I got to not eat Turkish food: a lot of gyros, beef, bread. It’s too greasy. If you eat that before a game you’ll throw up. I tried it one time and it’s a bad feeling.”
Fish and salads were Kanter’s steady diet as he trimmed down to a new NBA low for this season — not realizing it was for the Knicks.
“I don’t lose strength,’’ Kanter said. “It takes pressure off my knees and back.’’
The 25-year-old is set to embark on his first season with the Knicks, where he could quickly take a significant role with the team. He has shown throughout his career to be a reliable scorer and source of rebounding despite the struggles he has had defensively.
This loss in weight may play a big part in helping him become a more efficient player on both ends of the floor. New York may turn to him to be paired with Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup as one of the top scoring options.
Kanter is coming off one of his more productive campaigns where he averaged 14.3 points on 54.5 percent shooting from the field with 6.7 rebounds in 21.3 minutes per contest through 72 games played. He's also set to enter the third year of his four-year, $70 million deal that includes an $18.6 million player option for the 2018-19 season.
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