As an avid fan of professional wrestling, Enes Kanter is exceedingly familiar with over-the-top, one-dimensional bad guys and good guys, or, as they’re technically known in the industry, heels and babyfaces.
They’re usually pretty easy to distinguish between because of that aforementioned one-dimensionality, the heels typically belonging to some villainous archetype — egocentrics, psychopaths, megalomaniacs, bullies. Sometimes, the storyline will attempt to throw viewers a “swerve” by having a babyface reveal himself to actually be a heel, usually executed via the betrayal of a fellow babyface.
But again, it’s not terribly complex, regardless of the motivation — it’s simply changing the defining, underlying characteristic from one-dimensional heroic altruism to one-dimensional dastardly selfishness.
Kanter knows this all too well. After all, he’s been playing a heel role in the NBA for years.
First, he was part of a “stable” of big men here in Utah, but failing to distinguish himself from a group that included Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Derrick Favors (plus a young Rudy Gobert added through the draft), he lashed out at the coaching staff, accusing them of either not recognizing or misusing his myriad talents, and demanded a trade.
So, then he’s with the Thunder, outwardly trying to reinvent himself as a babyface with a productive string of double-doubles, only to reveal his inner heel the first time he faced the Jazz, embracing the “cheap heat” he knew he’d get by not only denigrating his former team as a collection of useless know-nothings, but also by trashing his former city as substandard, his former fans as inferior to his new ones.
You booed him every time he touched the ball when he was here a month or so ago with the Knicks, right?
Speaking of the Knicks, Kanter is in the news again this week for — History Repeating Itself Alert! — demanding to either play more or get traded from New York, his latest temporary paradise that wound up not living up to its initial promise (like Oklahoma City before it). And so, NBA fans rightly jeer the egocentric, the bully, whose on-court failings are perpetually someone else’s fault.
And why not, right? He’s a heel. He enjoys being the villain. And he deserves it, right?
Well, maybe remember that Kanter only plays a heel in the NBA. In real life, he’s a bit more nuanced, a bit less one-dimensional.
This is a guy, after all, who missed the Knicks’ game in London because he sincerely believes that his outspoken criticism of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would have made him a target for murder by Turkish spies operating in the United Kingdom.
This is a guy who’s been vocal in shining a light of the growing authoritarian tendencies of his home country’s president: in the months following a failed coup against him, Erdogan has jailed or fired tens of thousands of people — critics, rivals, journalists, anyone he can accuse, plausibly or not, of having participated or plotted in the attempted takeover. He is preparing to push through a constitutional amendment that will grant near-unlimited powers to the presidency.
Kanter’s father was among those imprisoned. Kanter’s Turkish passport was canceled. The Turkish government has said that if he ever returns, he faces a four-year prison term himself for “criticism of the president.” How many of us would be facing prison time if that were a thing here?
I’m not saying Jazz fans shouldn’t boo Kanter next time he comes through Salt Lake City with whichever franchise he’s on at that point. Clearly, his words and deeds have earned him a place in Jazz infamy alongside the likes of Derek Harper, Rony Seikaly, Derek Fisher, Gordon Hayward.
Rather, perhaps simply remember that the man you’re booing is a bit more complex, a bit more nuanced than a character who would drill an unsuspecting buddy in the back with a steel chair in the pursuit of a gold championship belt.
THREE MORE THOUGHTS
Harden keeps rolling • Late in the third quarter of Friday’s game between the Rockets and Raptors, Twitter was abuzz with the news that James Harden had “only” 24 points at the time. That’s just how prolific a scoring binge he’s been on. Of course, Harden wound up totaling 35 points — his 22nd consecutive game of 30-plus points. It’s an incredibly impressive streak, if not yet a historic one: It’s the fourth-longest in NBA history now; Wilt Chamberlain has all three streaks of longer duration, including an NBA-record 65.
Two Currys better than one • News that Charlotte native and Portland Trail Blazers guard Seth Curry will participate in the All-Star 3-Point Shootout (in Charlotte) was met with a collective “meh.” Subsequent news that Seth Curry’s brother Steph — perhaps you’ve heard of him? — will also participate for a sixth time was greeted more enthusiastically. The brotherly competition and the Charlotte connection — their father, Dell Curry, a former Jazz player, wound up playing 10 years with the Charlotte Hornets — has already injected arguably greater interest into the event than is typical of it: “The 3-point shootout will be fun with the Curry brothers,” Steph told ESPN. “I know he’s going to be gunning for me, though. That’s the problem.”
Let it snow, let it rain • The Clippers were playing in Chicago on Friday, and their team contingent headed to the arena in two buses. Freezing temperatures and a snowstorm wound up severely delaying one of the buses — the two-mile trip from the hotel wound up taking two hours, and it arrived at the arena just a half-hour before gametime. Sixth man extraordinaire Lou Williams was on that bus, but was apparently unperturbed at having his pregame routine disrupted. He became just the second player in NBA history to log a 30-point triple-double off the bench, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. It was the first triple-double in Williams’ career — in his 903rd game.
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