Portland Trail Blazers big man Enes Kanter has been recognized for his great year on and off the court, by being honored with the Maurice Lucas award.
The late great Maurice Lucas was a five-time All-Star who played for the Blazers for five seasons from 1976/77 to 1979/80. He was the second-best player on the Blazers’ only championship team back in 1977, averaging an impressive 20 and 10 with 4 assists alongside NBA legend Bill Walton.
Portland Trail Blazers: Enes Kanter wins Maurice Lucas award for 2021
The Blazers created the Lucas award in the 2011 season to honor the squad member who best represented the values of the former great.
After returning to Portland in a trade in the 2021 off-season, Kanter has averaged 11.2 points to go with a career-high 11.0 rebounds and a career-high 60.4 percent from the field. He stepped into the breach, starting when Jusuf Nurkic was injured and was part of a great mid-season run with CJ McCollum also injured.
Off the court, Kanter is active in the Turkish community in promoting social justice, and being active as a voice for people back in Turkey. Kanter has actually had threats from some parts of the Turkish community, and had his passport revoked in 2019 by the corrupt Turkish government because of his willingness to speak on political issues in the country of his birth. He doesn’t have it easy off the court, but continues to use his platform to try and make a change in the world.
Kanter joins Blazer squad members Carmelo Anthony, Jusuf Nurkic, and Damian Lillard, who have won the award once since the 2012/13 season.