“One Picture of My Family in My Phone”: Boston Celtics’ Enes Kanter Shares An Emotional Story

In the NBA Bubble, players are not allowed to meet with their families and loved ones to ensure their safety. It becomes hard to focus on the game and play at your best. But Boston Celtics’ center, Enes Kanter is facing something even more unfortunate.

Kanter has not seen his family for the last five years. He appeared on an episode of ESPN’s Daily Podcast where he opened up about his situation.

“Probably the toughest thing for me is after the games, the players go back to the court and take pictures with their family members…I go there sometimes to just watch them.

“I have this one picture of my family in my phone. I look at them as like, ‘hey, I know it’s tough, but just keep for what’s right, you know, it’s worth it.’ And I go back to the locker room and go home,” he said.

How did Enes Kanter end up with the Boston Celtics?

In 2011, Enes Kanter was one of the top prospects in his draft class. The Utah Jazz believed in him, and he was selected as the third overall pick. But he never found his rhythm in Utah, which led to a trade to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The story remained the same for Kanter, who couldn’t crack the starting lineup for most of his time at OKC. Later on, he played for the Blazers, Knicks, and finally landed a bench role with the Celtics.

Right now, he is averaging over 8 points per game, coupled with 7.4 rebounds for the Celtics. Kanter is aware of his role in Boston and is providing his team with some elite defense off the bench.

Celtics were the first team to come out of the first round in playoffs and will face reigning champion, Toronto Raptors, in the second round. Boston needs to be on top of their game to win against the Raptors. And Kanter can provide a defensive boost to the team when the starters are resting.

The Boston Celtics vs Toronto Raptors matchup has very high expectations, and either team can take the lead in Game 1 of the second round.