The Big Turkey on Thanksgiving Eve Edition: The Downbeat #1481

The Jazz are exciting again this season! They may not be at the top of the standings yet, but they sure know how to put us at the edge of our seats nearly every game so far this year!

One of the lesser mentioned reasons for this is the continued emergence of our very own Enes Kanter. I mean, this play right here on Monday made me jump out of my seat at home with my very own "stank face":

Big Turkey with Extra Stuffing #HappyThanksgiving @Enes_Kanter pic.twitter.com/pJbstm9qfX

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 25, 2014

That right there is a beast of a fully-grown manhulk's move

But wait, there's more! While Kanter is not busy on the court humiliating opposing teams' multimillionaires on a regular basis he makes time for some good old-fashioned philanthropy:

Just delivered Thanksgiving dinners out. Nice to learn about American culture and be a part of it. @nbacares #Respect pic.twitter.com/PUngiwLSOn

— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) November 23, 2014

With all the controversies/scandals that go on every season with athletes across seemingly every sport, it is a breath of fresh air to see an international player like Kanter being one of the good guys and one of the higher character guys in the league.

l am donating $100 every other day over the course of the next 6 months. #kanterforeducation http://t.co/3PAjizJ8mv pic.twitter.com/0Voh53Fsv5

— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) November 17, 2014

If you've got 4-figures to spend towards a good cause, it will cost you $2500 for a dinner for two with Mr. Kanter. It is nice to know how to finally catch the self-dubbed "gingerbread man.".

Okay, question time!

Which one of the F5 has had by far the fewest minutes this season at only 24 per game?

Which one of them is shooting the least amount of shots per game?

Who is 3rd on this Jazz team in scoring, 2nd in rebounding, and has been our most efficient scorer (out of players who shoot over 3 times per game)?

The more times you answered those questions with Enes Kanter, the more correct you are!

Enes has been the Jazz's 3rd best player this season next to Hayward and Favors. Good for the 22-year-old!

Other encouraging news:

Kanter is on track to average 20 points and 10 rebounds if his minutes per game increase from 24 to 36 minutes per game.

Despite playing less minutes per game and shooting less than last year, Kanter is averaging more points per game! Crazy how adding a 3 point shot and improved midrange shot can work wonders for a big man's game!

Who'da thunk it?

Here is a comparison of Kanter's FG% by distance over his career (courtesy of basketball-reference.com)

The Kanter Man Can!.

It's great to see his FG% higher at every single distance this year compared to last, nice work big fella!

Enough with the stats for now for our much-improved big man, let's watch some of his best plays from last season and just appreciate this great player on our roster! (Pardon the PG-13 music lyrics in the video)

Also, since this is usually the Shums' downbeat, I must satisfy some of your GIF cravings, so here you all go! Don't go overdosing with these now, ya'hear?

(Sources: crazy-nba and nbagifstory on tumblr)

Thank you Enes Kanter for growing with this team, and we hope that you stay with this team after the restricted free agency process this summer! And most importantly, stay oh so buff!

(Source: Salt City Hoops)

Happy thanksgiving Jazz fans!

A question for y'all in the comments:

Which current/former NBA player does Enes Kanter's play remind you of the most?