Enes Kanter suggests he’s not playing because of his anti-China takes, and he may be right

Enes Kanter, a Boston Celtics center, is playing at a career low 6.0 minutes per contest this season. He believes it may be due to his strong stance towards the Chinese government.

Kanter may be right. He has been vocal on social media about China’s massive human rights violations, and China’s state-run television has pulled Celtics games from its airwaves as a result.

Perhaps not-so-coincidentally, Kanter has appeared in just three of the Celtics’ first 14 games.

Keep in mind that the NBA is the only pro sports league to have made as much profit from China in history. Like many American companies the NBA ignores China’s happenings and is most likely to continue filling its own pockets.

That is why the NBA has yet to come out in support of Kanter and why many members of the NBA media — who work for companies with ties to China — have not asked the league to respond to Kanter’s China takes.

It is safe to say that the NBA holds the U.S. to a higher standard than China. The league pulled the All-Star Game from Charlotte in 2017 because of a bill that would have prohibited transgender people from using public toilets based on gender identity.

BOSTON MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 22, 2018: Enes Kanter #13 from the Boston Celtics watches the action at TD Garden on October 22nd, 2021 in Boston.
(Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

But the Chinese government is totally against “transgender rights,” and yet the NBA’s relationship with the Chinese government is, by and large, just peachy.

And frankly, that’s the least of China’s human rights violations.

Ime Udoka, the first-year Celtics coach, has been disappointing early. The team that was expected be a contender in the Eastern Conference is now just aimlessly floundering in the middle.

But Udoka said that Kanter’s lack of playing time has nothing to do with his opposition to the NBA’s primary money-maker.

“My thing is basketball. We’re switching a lot and doing some things that probably are not as natural for him and that’s limited his time to some extent,” Udoka insisted. “Nothing basketball-related is going to be based on (socialmedia).

Udoka might be telling the truth. Maybe Kanter really isn’t a basketball fit. That’s a bit surprising, given that he is 6-foot-10 and appeared in all 72 games with the Portland Trail Blazers last season, averaging a double-double of 11.2 points and 11.0 rebounds.

The Celtics worked tirelessly to sign him in free agency during the offseason and celebrated with fervor when they did. He is now barely seeing the court “basketball reasons”

As with most things in the NBA and China, the mysterious happenings with Kanter and the Celtics seem very suspicious.

Oct 4, 2021 Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Enes Kanter (13) reacts when Romeo Langford (9), a guard, made a three-pointer during the second period against the Orlando Magic at TD Garden.
(Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports).