{"id":491148,"date":"2026-02-19T23:19:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/491148\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T23:19:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T23:19:08","slug":"enes-kanter-freedom-believes-china-is-the-reason-for-his-nba-exodus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/491148\/","title":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Freedom Believes China Is The Reason For His NBA Exodus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enes Kanter Freedom<\/a>, an 11-year NBA veteran and one of the league\u2019s most outspoken figures off the court, believes that his political activism, especially his criticism of China, is the primary reason his NBA career ended and why a return seems unlikely. At 33 years old and healthy, Freedom says he still wants to compete at the highest level, but he doubts any NBA team will take a chance on him given the controversy tied to his activism.<\/p>\n

In recent comments to OPEN TV<\/a>, Kanter reiterated his belief that his advocacy has effectively closed the door on a return to the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope so. I\u2019m 33, I\u2019m still young, healthy. It would be nice. But I don\u2019t think the NBA is going to happen because of its relationship with China. But I hope some EuroLeague team will come out, be brave, and want to sign me.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expressed hope that a European club, particularly Greek powerhouse Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens, would \u2018be brave\u2019 enough to sign him despite the political pressure that has followed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big fan. We had a little discussion with them, but obviously, like other teams, they were really afraid to sign me because Turkey is very close to Greece, and if I signed now, it would put a lot of pressure on Panathinaikos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kanter, who has not played professional basketball since the 2021-22 season with the Boston Celtics<\/a> and was briefly with the Houston Rockets<\/a> before being waived, has become a globally recognized human rights advocate. He changed his surname to \u2018Freedom\u2019 when he became a U.S. citizen in part to reflect his commitment to speaking out for oppressed people around the world.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, Kanter has openly targeted some of the league\u2019s biggest figures. He once labeled LeBron James the \u2018dictator of the NBA,\u2019<\/a> accusing him of wielding too much influence. After LeBron became the league\u2019s all-time scoring leader, Kanter blasted him publicly, writing that he had \u20180 morals, 0 values, 0 principles, 0 empathy.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The attacks stemmed largely from disagreements over China, where LeBron previously urged caution when speaking about geopolitical issues following the Daryl Morey controversy in 2019.<\/p>\n

Kanter has also taken aim at Michael Jordan<\/a>, accusing him of caring more about selling shoes and making money than speaking out on social issues abroad. Jordan\u2019s brand ties to China have often been referenced by Kanter as an example of what he sees as selective activism within the basketball world.<\/p>\n

Beyond calling out star players, Kanter has made more dramatic claims about his own situation. He has said he believes he has been blackballed from the NBA<\/a> because of his political views, stating, \u2018I could\u2019ve played in the league another six years.\u2019 <\/p>\n

He has also claimed that a serial killer was hired to end his life<\/a> due to his activism against the Turkish government and other regimes. Kanter has long been a vocal critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his passport was revoked years ago, making him effectively stateless before he became a U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n

Now, although his NBA chapter appears closed, Kanter has shifted his focus to international opportunities and continued advocacy. He says he is ready to play if the right club shows interest, and he specifically mentioned Panathinaikos as a team that could benefit from both his skill and his outspoken spirit.<\/p>\n

Whether or not his political stance truly cost him his NBA career, Kanter Freedom\u2019s belief that China played a central role has become a defining part of his legacy, one that intertwines basketball, activism, and global geopolitics in a way few athletes have ever experienced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Enes Kanter Freedom, an 11-year NBA veteran and one of the league\u2019s most outspoken figures off the court,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-491148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491148"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491148\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}