Enes Kanter is both an NBA player and a person without a country. This unusual combination has become a legal and political problem for the New York Knicks center. Kanter, who is averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds per game in the ’18-’19 season, will not travel to London to play in the Knicks-Washington Wizards game on Jan. 17.
Kanter and the Knicks have provided different, but not necessarily conflicting, rationales for Kanter missing the game. Following the Knicks’ 119-112 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, Kanter told media that he was missing the game “because of that freaking lunatic.