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Utah Jazz notes: Kanter in town for Game 5, Rubio up for award

By Zachary Padmore

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz speaks with media after the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: Ricky Rubio #3 of the Utah Jazz speaks with media after the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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A familiar face has arrived in Oklahoma City for tonight’s showdown between the Utah Jazz and the Thunder. Also — Ricky Rubio is up for some year-end hardware.

The Utah Jazz are up 3-1 on the Oklahoma City Thunder, and will look to close out the series tonight in Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, a familiar face (for both squads) will be in the crowd taking in the action.

Enes Kanter, the former Jazz and Thunder center, will be at the game, cheering on the team that traded him to the New York Knicks for Carmelo Anthony.

Kanter’s love for Oklahoma City has been well-documented. He really enjoyed playing with the Thunder, and was shocked to find out he was traded to New York before the 2017-18 season began.

However, there is no love lost between Kanter and the Jazz. The 6-foot-11 center from Turkey will be cheering for his former teammates tonight, and not the ones in white; Utah will be wearing their white Association Edition jerseys on the road.

When Kanter was traded to Oklahoma City from Utah, he instantly became a Jazz enemy thanks to the comments he made about the team and the state of Utah. He seems to have done some growing up since then, but remains a disliked player to a lot of Jazz fans.

Steven Adams joked that while he does think Kanter will get a nice reception from Thunder fans, it would be funny if he doesn’t.

Ricky Rubio up for NBA Cares Community Assist Award

Ricky Rubio has been talked about for his play on the court all season long, and for good reason. He is having a ball in his first NBA Playoffs action, and even had a triple-double against the Thunder in Game 3.

However, his actions off the court haven’t gone unnoticed. Rubio is one of 10 nominees for the NBA Care Community Assist Award. He has fit in perfectly with this team both on the court, and off the court.

https://twitter.com/utahjazz/status/989157093285523456

Rubio lost his mother to lung cancer in 2016, and has worked tirelessly to try to generate awareness to this horrible disease. He is an ambassador to 5 for the Fight, the jersey patch of the Utah Jazz.

Earlier this season, Rubio received the November NBA Cares Community Assist Award. Ricky even hosted a Lung Cancer Awareness night when the Jazz faced the Bucks on November 25th.

Next: OKC 3 about the go the way of Lob City?

On Twitter, you can retweet to vote for Ricky. I’m sure winning this award would mean the world to him.

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