Turkey’s Furkan Korkmaz, who once played for the 76ers: “Until now, I think Joel Embiid was the best player, best center I was playing with, but I think we can tell that it’s Alperen (Sengun) now.”
“Until now I thought Joel Embiid was the best big man I played with, but it’s Alperen Şengün now. Defensively and offensively I think he’s a special kid”
Furkan Korkmaz om Alperen Şengün 🔥🔥🔥 (via @EurohoopsTR)
pic.twitter.com/FIgc1UZBOk
— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) September 9, 2025
Alperen Sengun has been on an impressive run in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 tournament, as evidenced by Tuesday’s historic triple-double against Poland. Overall, he’s led his native Turkey to a perfect 7-0 record as the team prepares to face Greece in Saturday’s semifinals.
After Tuesday’s 91-77 victory, former 76ers guard Furkan Korkmaz (now Sengun’s Turkish teammate) became the latest player to speak highly of the young Houston Rockets star. He even made a very bold statement comparing Sengun to former Philadelphia teammate Joel Embiid, a seven-time NBA All-Star and 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP).
“Until now I think Joel Embiid was the best player, best center that I was playing (with)… but I think we can tell that it’s Alperen now,” Korkmaz told reporters after Tuesday’s game. “It’s great to be around him, you know? He’s enjoying playing basketball, he helps us a lot on the court, defensively and offensively.”
Korkmaz continued to rave about Sengun’s effort throughout the tournament.
“I think he’s a special kid, and everyday he’s trying to give his maximum (effort)… and this year, we are also seeing that he’s playing aggressive defense too, not only offense,” Korkmaz added. “That gives us a lot of confidence on the frontcourt to pressure the ball well, and he’s helping us from different ways.”
The Turkish guard went on to say that Sengun will continue to grow a lot and should become a better basketball player each year.
“He still has a long way to go,” the seven-year NBA veteran said. “He’s going to grow a lot and then we’re going to see much better basketball from him from this year to next year, next year to another year. He’s going to keep adding.”