OKLAHOMA CITY, July 12, 2015 – The Oklahoma City Thunder has exercised its right of first refusal and matched the offer sheet extended to center Enes Kanter by the Portland Trail Blazers, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We traded for Enes last season with the intention of keeping him as a member of the Thunder for several years to come, and we are excited that he will continue with us,” said Presti. “He adds valuable depth to our roster, diversity to our frontcourt and the dimension that he brings offensively will positively impact our team.”
In 26 games this past season with the Thunder, Kanter averaged 18.7 points to go along with 11.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 31.1 minutes per contest. Since being acquired from the Utah Jazz on Feb. 19, the 23-year-old Kanter registered 17 double-doubles, including a Thunder record eight straight double-doubles in late March.
Originally selected third overall in the 2011 NBA draft, Kanter recorded at least 20 points and 10 rebounds 11 times with Oklahoma City this past season. Prior to Kanter’s arrival, no Thunder center had ever recorded a single 20-point/10-rebound game.
Including his career-high 30-point effort on Apr. 1 vs Dallas, Kanter scored 20 or more points in 12 of his 26 appearances this past season with the Thunder. On March 24 against the LA Lakers, Kanter became the only player in the NBA this past season to record 15+ points and 10+ rebounds in the first quarter alone.
Kanter has appeared in 291 career games and owns career averages of 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds in 21.4 minutes.