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NBA star Enes Kanter says he’s still about 2 years away from becoming a U.S. citizen … but when it DOES happen, he tells TMZ Sports he might have a new name too!!!
Of course, the 27-year-old Celtics hooper has been labeled a terrorist in his home country of Turkey after publicly criticizing president Recep Tayyip Erdogan … calling him “the Hitler of our generation.”
Considering Kanter can get locked up in prison if he ever goes back home, he’s kick-started the process of becoming a U.S. citizen … and is thinking of making even more changes to go along with it.
“I’m actually becoming a U.S. citizen in 2 years,” Kanter said … “I’m actually thinking about adding an American name. I’m still thinking about it. I don’t know yet.”
We also talked with Kanter about the work he’s put into helping bring awareness to the human rights issues in Turkey and what he’s doing to fix the problem.
“It’s definitely tough to fight against a dictator. But, I definitely got hope. I’m trying to be the voice of hopeless, innocent people who don’t have one.”