The bizarre All-Star voting numbers for Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter Freedom have been fixed by the NBA.
Screenshots from Saturday showed that Freedom is now listed on the NBA’s official website as having received 8,384 total fan votes for this year’s All-Star Game. Freedom was previously listed as having received zero total fan votes, sparking suspicion as to how that was possible.
Take a look at the updated vote total:
The NBA has updated the All-Star numbers for @EnesFreedom
He is now listed as having received 8,384 total fan votes. pic.twitter.com/TtSw0T3iNz
— Jason Squilliams (@JasonSquilliams) January 30, 2022
Here is the file from the NBA website if you would like to see for yourself.
Freedom, who is averaging 3.7 points in 12.1 minutes per game this season, is obviously not playing at All-Star level. But with even the most unknown players in the NBA getting several hundred to several thousand votes from fans, it was very odd that Freedom originally got listed with zero votes. Freedom is even known among non-NBA fans for his outspoken activism.
An NBA spokesperson told Larry Brown Sports that the issue was due to a technical error related to Enes’ name change from “Kanter” to “Freedom.” The spokesperson also said that the chart was updated on Friday with the correct numbers (the original chart was released on Thursday).
Now, instead of zero, Freedom’s All-Star fan vote count is listed as 8,384, a number that makes a lot more sense.
Photo: Nov 22, 2019; Denver, CO, USA; Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter (11) before the game against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
