Enes Kanter to Legally Change Name to Enes Kanter Freedom

The NBA is home to many players from outside the United States, who maintain citizenship in their home countries while competing for teams based here. Former Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter will no longer be one of those players, as he’s gone through the process to become an American citizen.

It was announced earlier this week that Kanter had passed his citizenship test, and will officially become a citizen of the USA on Monday, but today news came that that wouldn’t be the only change for the Boston Celtics center.

Along with his citizenship status, Kanter will be legally changing his last name to Freedom. His given last name, Kanter, will become his middle name, making his full legal name Enes Kanter Freedom.

In the NBA bubble, when players had the opportunity to incorporate a message on the back of their jerseys, Kanter chose to add his soon-to-be last name “Freedom.” He has also written the moniker on his shoes in the past.

Photo by Kim Klement - Pool/Getty Images

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

The Turkish big man has made headlines lately by calling out Nike, and specifically LeBron James and Michael Jordan, for it’s alleged slave labor. He’s continued to be at the forefront of the news by bringing to light many social justice issues on own social media.