Getty New York Knicks center Enes Kanter and Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams
It’s hard not to love seeing two big men in the NBA jawing back and forth at each other. But apparently, when New York Knicks center Enes Kanter and Oklahoma City Thunder big man Steven Adams do it, there’s plenty of love in those comments. While the two players squared off on Wednesday night, they spoke about each other after the game, a 128-103 Thunder victory.
The main takeaway from the comments was that it seems Adams does a whole lot of the talking to and about Kanter. As The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov revealed, Kanter said Adams always tells him he sucks … but they’ll still hug it out in the end.
“He always tries to troll me and tells me I suck and all that stuff. But it’s all love in the end. I’m probably going to see him in a couple minutes and give him a big hug.” Kanter told Vorkunov.
That’s pretty great, but it’s even better when seeing this came just after Adams’ comments on Kanter to Knicks coach David Fizdale. As The Athletic’s Brett Dawson revealed, the Thunder big man said he told Fizdale to take Kanter out of the game because “he doesn’t know how to play defense.”
Adams went on to tell reporters that he really only said it because Kanter’s an incredibly good player, so it’s better for the Thunder when he’s off the floor.
Enes Kanter and Steven Adams’ History
Kanter and Adams go back to when the current Knicks center was moved to the Thunder during the 2014-15 season. That was Adams’ second season in Oklahoma City after the team selected him No. 12 overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. The duo played together for just under two and a half seasons, with the final year coming in 2016-17.
In the two full seasons Kanter and Adams played together, the Thunder made the playoffs both years while going to the Western Conference Finals in 2015-16. During that season Oklahoma City won 55 games and it marked their first of three consecutive playoff appearances.
READ NEXT: Draymond Green Trade: Odds Have Warriors Star in L.A. if Dealt