Enes Kanter returned to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, but he was not able to get the reception that he may have been hoping for.
Kanter, whose New York Knicks did not make the playoffs, attended Game 5 between the Thunder and the Utah Jazz, coincidentally his two former teams. However, he was upset to learn he could not be shown on the big board during the game due to tampering reasons, per Fred Katz of the Norman Transcript.
The Thunder can't show Kanter on the big board during the game for tampering reasons. Enes was upset to learn this: "It’s OK. Whatever. I’ll just get up and just wave."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 26, 2018
Kanter also made clear that he was rooting for the Thunder and not the Jazz.
Enes Kanter wanted to make one thing clear: "I am cheering for the Thunder. And I am not cheering for the Utah Jazz."
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) April 26, 2018
In addition, he rocked a “Stache Brothers” t-shirt (a nod to the nickname that he and Steven Adams had when they were teammates in OKC) and made sure to tweet a good luck message to the Thunder from the stands before tip-off.
Guest appearance tonight in OKC. pic.twitter.com/d68TxCvhFG
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2018
Good Luck #ThunderNationpic.twitter.com/v6vgeTiSp8
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) April 26, 2018
Much to Kanter’s presumed delight, the Thunder defeated the Jazz 107-99 to force a Game 6 in the first-round playoff series. Missing out on a big board shoutout due to tampering concerns seems like a new one though. But you can’t blame Oklahoma City for abiding by it when one of their players was involved in a notable tampering violation just a few months ago.
