“I don’t think he would want that nickname, but I think you can see the similarities with their games,” Turkish teammate Shane Larkin says of Alperen Sengun and Serbian star Nikola Jokic.
After a statement win against Serbia on Wednesday, Alperen Sengun and Turkey are preparing to play Sweden in Saturday’s Round of 16. From this point forward, all games in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 competition are single elimination knockout rounds.
In his previous outing, Sengun nearly had a triple-double versus three-time NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) and six-time All-Star Nikola Jokic, a star who the Houston Rockets cornestone has often been compared to.
“Baby Jokic” has been a nickname often attached to Houston’s young star due to stylistic symilarities. The craftiness, soft touch at the rim, passing ability, and an emerging 3-point shot are rapidly turning Sengun into one of the league’s most intriguing players to watch. After Turkey’s win against Latvia to begin EuroBasket play, fellow NBA big man Kristaps Porzingis brought up the comparison.
“I mean he’s good, he’s talented,” Porzingis told EuroBasket reporters in Latvia. “How he spins around off the body…. he’s really good at this. One of the best, he’s like a ‘Baby Jokic,’ you know? “His passing ability and how he makes his teammates better… is (a) credit to him.”
But that inevitably begs the question: As Sengun evolves into a legitimate star, is it time to let his play speak for itself, independent of any nicknames or comparisons to other players?
Following Sengun’s performance against Serbia, Turkey point guard Shane Larkin was asked if he thought the “Baby Jokic” tag is still fitting.
“I don’t think he would want that nickname, but I think you can see the similarities with their games,” Larkin said. “Alperen has big aspirations, Alperen is a very confident kid, Alperen has a very high level of basketball skill and a very high level of talent.”
Larkin, who played four NBA seasons in the 2010s, continued to give praise to his Turkish teammate.
“I think he’s proving during this tournament that he is ready to take the next step,” Larkin added. “Last year he was an NBA All-Star and I think he’s going to continue to grow, continue to become a better and better player, and I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
To Larkin’s point, Sengun said almost two years ago that he didn’t mind that nickname for the early stages of his NBA career, but that he hoped to eventually advance beyond it.
“When I grow up, I don’t wanna hear that [nickname],” Sengün said in January 2024 (via Micheal Shapiro of Chron.com).
Sengun is currently averaging 21.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game in EuroBasket play, so he looks to be growing up quite quickly. The 23-year-old is hoping to continue that success when Turkey tips off against Sweden at 4:00 a.m. Central time on Saturday.
Shane Larkin on Alperen Sengun being called “Baby Jokic”:
“I don’t think he would want that nickname…
…That nickname was suiting for him a couple of years ago but he’s much bigger and much better than he was when they originally gave him that nickname.” pic.twitter.com/gY4dinfyn6
— Antonis Stroggylakis (@AStroggylakis) September 3, 2025