‘Encouraged me to do this’ – Enes Kanter reveals inspiration behind declaring for WNBA

Enes Kanter made headlines earlier this month when he decided to declare for the WNBA.

In his initial post on X, Kanter stated that ‘If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.’

The former NBA player has since become a major talking point as the debate around whether trans athletes should be allowed to compete in the WNBA goes on.

Now, Kanter has been speaking to America First Policy Institute this week and discussed when he decided he was going to try and play in the WNBA.

Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In the interview, he mentioned how he was watching the WNBA when one player said they welcome trans athletes in their team.

It was at this point Kanter says he got the idea to take his shot and try to play in the league.

In full, he said: “I’m on my couch, watching the WNBA because I love the game, and I was watching the post-game interviews, and one of the players came out and literally said, ‘I welcome trans athletes in my team any day and every day.’ And she even said, ‘There’s no problem with me going against a trans athlete.’

“So I was like, that gave me an idea. I was like, if they don’t have any problem with it, why not just go out there and take my shot, and try to play basketball in WNBA.

“Seems like the league itself, plus the players, have no problem with it.

“The WNBA itself, players, and especially the coaches are the ones that have been advocating trans people playing in women’s sports. So I’m not sure why I am getting all this backlash. They are the ones that encouraged me to do this.

“So for that reason, I want to play basketball.”

In the same interview, Kanter commented on playing with Caitlin Clark and suggested they would ‘be modern Kobe and Shaq’.

Amid the ongoing debate around trans athletes in the sport, the WNBA recently held a meeting, but they did not announce new eligibility rules while saying they ‘strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalise others’.