Basketball is a global sport.
Beginning Tuesday, millions of people around the world will gather to watch Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers try to dethrone the two-time defending champion Warriors in the Western Conference finals.
Basketball fans in Turkey, however, won't be able to watch the Dame vs. Goliath showdown.
Blazers center Enes Kanter, who is from Turkey, has been critical of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and describes himself as a close ally of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen has been accused of being part of a failed coup attempt in 2016, something he denies having involvement in.
The Turkish government has charged Kanter with being part of a terrorist group and demanded he is extradited from the United States. Kanter has denied that he has any involvement in a terrorist group and just advocates for a free and democratic Turkey.
As such, S Sport, which is the main broadcaster of NBA games in Turkey, has ignored Kanter's games since last season and will not be airing the Western Conference finals or the NBA Finals should the Blazers advance, according to Reuters.
Sports
Basketball fans in Turkey will still be able to watch the Eastern Conference finals between the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors. They also can watch both the Western Conference finals and Eastern Conference finals with an NBA TV subscription and online via NBA League Pass.
Kanter responded to the news with an Instagram post Tuesday.
It's a shame that NBA fans in Turkey won't get to watch what promises to be an electrifying showdown between the Warriors and Blazers.
The two teams split their four-game series during the regular season, and with Kevin Durant missing Game 1 and likely Game 2 with a strained right calf, the Blazers have a puncher's chance of knocking off the kings of the NBA.
[RELATED: Dame gets shot at one last "storybook moment" in Oracle, Oakland]
While KD's injury certainly levels the playing field a bit, the Blazers still face an uphill climb to their first NBA Finals berth since 1992. Steph Curry, who was mired in a horrible shooting slump in the second round of the NBA playoffs, snapped out of his funk last Friday, scoring 33 second-half points to eliminate the Houston Rockets in six games.
Golden State showed its championship heart in eliminating the Rockets without Durant, and now they'll face a confident Blazers team that believes they will be the ones to end the dynastic run in the Bay.
Hopefully, basketball fans in Turkey can find a way to watch what's sure to be an exciting series.
