With the way he was blocking shots against the Charlotte Hornets on New Years Eve, it’s understandable why the NBA might think something fishy was going on with Boston Celtics center Enes Kanter.
The Turkish big man has never been known as a rim protector, but managed to block a career-high six shots on the last Celtics contest of 2019.
Granted, a lot of those blocks were due to young Hornets players making ill-advised shots close to where the Zurich native can get his stealthily deft hands, which allows Kanter to poke away the ball on its way up.
The NBA evidently thought it might be worth looking into anyway, with the 6-foot-10 big man reporting on Twitter Jan. 2 that the league is going to drug test him.
Got 6 blocks for the first time in my career and now about to get Drug tested 😅
Thanks @NBA 🤦🏻♂️
— Enes Kanter (@EnesKanter) January 2, 2020
To be fair, he’s never been a defensive anchor in the paint, but as has been pointed out, Kanter’s strengths on defense include what we saw from Charlotte being unwise enough to not respect his near-basket defense.
In a way, the drug test is a sort of backhanded compliment.
Kanter is not the first league athlete to get the pee-in-a-cup-request after similarly outstanding performances. For example, Danny Green’s explosive dunk earlier this season earning him a trip to the bathroom as well.
For Kanter, who has averaged .05 blocks over the course of his career, a dozen times his career average is a bit remarkable, after all.