Getty Enes Kanter #11 of the Boston Celtics.
Enes Kanter Freedom hasn’t played in an NBA game since February 8, 2022. After the Boston Celtics traded him to the Houston Rockets at the NBA trade deadline on February 10, the Rockets waived him to make him a free agent to this day. Freedom has since gone on the record saying that the league is blackballing him for the critical remarks he made against China and Nike. According to Freedom himself, he was forewarned by his Celtics teammates that his criticism would get him kicked out of the NBA.
In an interview with ReasonTV, Freedom said that multiple teammates warned him about the dangers of speaking out against Nike and China.
“I remember my teammates were coming to me one by one in the locker room and saying, ‘You know this is your last year, right?’ You’re not going to be able to get any contract after this.’ They were telling me, ‘Listen, you attack Nike. You attack China. You won’t play another minute for this league ever again.’ I was like, wow, they were really telling me (that) this is it. Just because I was talking about the situation happening in China. I expose Nike and some other companies and stuff.”
Whether Freedom’s criticism of Nike and China is the reason why he’s no longer in the NBA or not, the fact remains that he hasn’t played in the NBA since Boston traded him.
Although the Celtics traded Freedom twice shortly after signing there – they first traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2020 NBA Draft – Freedom holds no ill will towards the team, as evidenced by him praising the team after almost winning the NBA championship.
Freedom Praised the Celtics
Despite not being there to see the run firsthand, Freedom praised the Celtics in a separate interview with Sport 5 for the playoff run they went on as a team.
Freedom was saddened that they didn’t win the title, which would have benefited him by proxy, but he believes they’ll be back at it next season.
“It was amazing because obviously, that’s the team that I played for, and if they would have won a championship, then I was going to get a championship ring too. But unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but they have an amazing team. I think that they’re going to (be) really good this year.”
While praising his former team, with which he’s had two stints, Freedom also took the time to praise a recently passed Celtics legend.
Freedom Praised Bill Russell’s Impact
When asked to give his thoughts on the recent passing of Bill Russell with Sport 5, Freedom praised Russell for all he did for the world of sports, both in and outside of the game. Freedom made a special note of the winner that Russell was during his playing days.
“The whole sports family has definitely lost a very important athlete. He won 11 championships. The most that anyone can have. He was a representative of professionalism, and he was a person (that) stands for what he believed in on and off the court. That’s why he meant a lot to so many people that I’ll be playing for his family.”