Despite Houston’s disappointing 128-125 overtime loss to the Denver Nuggets Monday night, Alperen Sengun made franchise history as he notched his first triple-double of the season.
In 42 minutes, Sengun dropped 33 points on an efficient 14-for-27 effort from the field, adding 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He’s averaging a career-high 7.1 assists per game this season and came close to getting a triple-double multiple times before breaking through Monday.
Sengun’s historic triple-double
Sengun’s triple-double on Monday was the ninth of his career, breaking a tie with Russell Westbrook and moving him up to third all-time in Houston’s franchise history in triple-doubles. While Sengun has a long way to go to catch former MVP James Harden, who tops the list with 46 triple-doubles, he could pass Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon at second by the end of the season.
The Turkish big man would need to accomplish the feat six more times this season to pass Olajuwon’s 14 career triple-doubles. Considering Sengun’s all-around production and the career-highs he’s averaging across the board, it seems like a reasonable goal.
In addition to passing Westbrook, he also became the youngest center ever with multiple 30-point, 10-rebound games in a single season. Sengun’s first of the season came against the Orlando Magic on Nov. 16, where he scored 30 points and added 12 rebounds in a 117-114 overtime win.
Sengun’s teammate, Amen Thompson, isn’t far behind Sengun with four career triple-doubles, tied for seventh all-time in franchise history.
With less than half as many career games played as Sengun, Thompson is well on pace to also earn a spot at the top of the leaderboard, and both could be in the top three all-time by the end of the season.