[5] In 2009, Kanter moved to the United States, where he enrolled at Stoneridge Preparatory School in Simi Valley, California, and played for the basketball team in 2009–10.

[5] However, he re-opened his recruitment in February 2010, and on April 14, Kanter signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Kentucky.

[14][18] However, despite signing with the Kentucky Wildcats, the NCAA declared him permanently ineligible as a collegiate athlete because he received approximately $33,000 from Fenerbahçe in excess benefits.

On March 1, 2013, Kanter had the first 20–20 game of his career with career-highs of 23 points and 22 rebounds to lead the Jazz to a 98–68 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

[31] However, three days later, the Thunder exercised their right of first refusal and matched the offer sheet extended to Kanter by the Trail Blazers.

[40] When Kanter lost his passport and faced being trapped abroad, his teammates, Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams, reached out to him to make sure he was okay.

[41] On September 25, 2017, Kanter was traded, along with Doug McDermott and a 2018 second-round pick, to the New York Knicks in exchange for Carmelo Anthony.

[42] In his debut for the Knicks in their season opener on October 19, 2017, Kanter had 10 points and seven rebounds in a 105–84 loss to his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

[50] A day later, he recorded 17 points and 15 rebounds in a 103–101 loss to the Celtics, becoming the first Knick since Zach Randolph (2007–08) to start the season with three straight double-doubles.

[60] He made his debut for the Trail Blazers on February 21, recording 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench in a 113–99 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

[61] In game one of the Trail Blazers' first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kanter had 20 points and a career playoff-high 18 rebounds in a 104–99 win, becoming just the third player in team history with at least 20 points and 18 rebounds in playoff game: Bill Walton did it three times and LaMarcus Aldridge once.

[67] On August 13, 2021, Kanter signed a one-year, worth $2.7 million veteran's minimum contract with the Boston Celtics.

On February 10, 2022, Freedom was traded, along with Dennis Schröder and Bruno Fernando, to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Daniel Theis.

Kanter went on to earn MVP honors at the 2009 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship after averaging 18.6 points and 16.4 rebounds while leading Turkey's junior national team to the bronze medal.

"[75] Kanter also believes that if he were to go to Turkey to play he would end up in jail, killed by the national government, and a fake poisoning incident would be created.

[10] After the failed 2016 coup d'état attempt, Kanter criticised Turkish president Erdoğan on Twitter, calling him the "Hitler of our century".

[101] Soon after the coup attempt in July, his father and his family publicly disowned him due to his political views and his support for Gülen, imploring him to change his surname, on August 8.

[102] His father was dismissed from his university position a few weeks later, via government decree numbered 272 on September 1, as part of the 2016–17 Turkish purges.

[110] According to Sports Illustrated, "Although Kanter might dismiss the Turkish arrest warrant as toothless, he faces the more impactful problem of being a man without a country.

"[111] In December 2017, the Associated Press reported that Turkish prosecutors were seeking more than four years in prison for Kanter, who would be tried in absentia.

"[115] Kanter later credited the bond he and Wyden had forged as part of the reason he sacrificed salary to facilitate a trade back to Portland in 2020.

[116] It was reported on January 19, 2023, the Turkish government placed a $500,600 bounty[117] on Enes Kanter and his name was added to the Grey Tier of Turkey's terrorist list.

"[119] In May 2017, while on a tour hosting basketball camps in Hong Kong and Japan and other parts of Asia, Kanter was in Jakarta, Indonesia.

[4] Kanter, staying at a hotel with his manager, instead immediately left Indonesia,[11] traveling to Singapore, then Bucharest, Romania via Frankfurt, Germany.

[10] On May 20, 2017, when trying to fly into Romania – where another camp was planned to be held – Kanter was not allowed into the country and was told by officials there that his passport had been cancelled by the Turkish embassy.

[125][126] According to a 2019 ESPN story, FBI agents issued him a communications device that allows him to contact the organization at a moment's notice due to credible threats against his life.

[129][130] In November 2020, Kanter also met with Israeli diplomat Gilad Erdan and talked of joining forces to combat antisemitism.

[134][135] However, he has also criticized the Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, saying "Children and innocent people do not deserve to be punished for the acts of Hamas!

[10][137] In October 2021, he condemned Xi Jinping, the Chinese paramount leader, as a "brutal dictator" and expressed his support for the Free Tibet movement on Twitter.

[140][141] In November 2021, Kanter appeared in interviews on Fox News[142] and CNN[143] advocating for the boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in China.