Alperen Sengun has been a key part of the Houston Rockets team since they drafted him in 2021.
The franchise has become one of the best teams after several years of being outside the playoffs, and Alperen Sengun has been a key part of this progress.
He made his first All-Star appearance last year after averaging 19.1 PPG and 10.3 RPG.
Even prior to making his debut in the NBA, Sengun was playing professionally in Turkey.
The man who drafted him has explained why that was one of the key reasons they were so high on his talent.
Photo by Yagiz Gurtug/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesSengun became an MVP in Turkey at 18
Sengun made his professional debut in Turkey at the age of 16. By his third season, he was playing for one of the best teams in the country – Besiktas.
After averaging over 18 points and eight rebounds, Sengun was named the MVP of the league in the 2020-21 season.
Houston Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone expressed how impressed he was with Sengun’s MVP success and decided to move up the draft by trading two first-round picks to the OKC Thunder.
Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images
He said: “We traded two first round picks to get him and so we wouldn’t have done that if we didn’t see somebody who could be this type of impactful player.
“There are guys who can be very good and then there are guys who can be a little bit more than that and so we saw that.”
Stone then went on to explain how Sengun’s early success was similar to that of Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic.
“Alperen he was the MVP of the Turkish league, it’s definitely a Top 4 or 5 league in the world. Guys making like $5 million, $6 million dollars a year, like really good players.
“When you watch the World Championships or Olympics and you watch these guys play, there will be NBA guys sprinkled in and these guys look like the NBA guys.
“Like there’s no difference, yeah those guys are playing professionally whether it’s in Spain or Turkey or whatever and he was the MVP of that league at 18.
“The only two people who had comparable success in top tier leagues are Jokic, who had the year after he was drafted… and Luka. So I thought good indicator,” Stone added.
Sengun has improved significantly
Sengun came into the NBA really young and still had a lot to learn. He was also on a Rockets team that did not have a lot of players to learn from.
However, the franchise has changed a lot since and every passing year Sengun has improved his game.
The Turkish center revealed that Fred VanVleet was a player who was constantly in his ear.
SeasonPoints Rebounds2021-229.65.52022-2314.89.02023-2421.19.32024-2519.110.3
Next season, he will also have Kevin Durant on his team, a player Sengun is really excited to play with.
The Rockets are one of the teams to watch out for next season with all the additions they have made in the offseason.
All eyes will be on Durant to deliver, but Ime Udoka and the organization will know that Sengun will also be someone who will play a major role for them to be successful.