Watch: Enes Freedom Checks Into Game for First Time Since Name Change

The Celtics center became a U.S. citizen this week and has been outspoken recently in trying to draw attention to injustices in China.

Days after legally changing his name, Enes Kanter Freedom heard it announced while playing in an NBA game for the first time.

Freedom entered Wednesday night's home game against the 76ers midway through the first quarter, and received a loud ovation from the Boston crowd. He waved toward the seats in acknowledgement shortly after stepping onto the court.

Celtics Nation gets loud for Enes Freedom as he checks in for the first time pic.twitter.com/ahJ5l4AoD8

— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) December 2, 2021

Freedom has made headlines recently for his comments toward Lakers star LeBron James, saying he would like "educate" James on human rights violations in China. Freedom has been critical of James and Nike in the past for not speaking up about the the subject.

"Sure, I'd love to sit down and talk to him," Freedom told reporters on Tuesday, per ESPN. "I'm sure it's going to be a very uncomfortable conversation for him. I don't know if he's gonna want that. I'll make that really comfortable for him.

"I don't know if he's educated enough, but I'm here to educate him and I'm here to help him, because it's not about money. It's about morals, principles and values. It's about what you stand for. There are way bigger things than money. If LeBron stopped making money now, his grandkids and grandkids and grandkids can have the best life ever."

Freedom has also called out Nike and its co-founder, Phil Knight, on Instagram for what he called "slave labor camps" in China. He also tagged James and Michael Jordan in his post.

"Nike remains vocal about injustice here in America, but when it comes to China, Nike remains silent," said Kanter, in a post which featured the hashtags #HypocriteNike and #EndUyghurForcedLabor.

"You do not address police brutality in China, you do not speak about discrimination against the LGBTQ community, you do not say a word about the oppression of minorities in China, you are scared to speak up."