Before his third season, Alperen Sengun thought he would be very important for the Houston Rockets. This is what he said on Oct. 2 during Media Day. And after 12 wins, Sengun has lived up to his hopes for the 2023–24 season.
“I believe I’m going to help my team more this year, play better defense for sure,” Sengun added. “I will give my all on defense while making better shots on offense. I am going to do my best this year. The first two years did not go so well. But this year, we have the hunger to win.”
The Rockets did not win in San Francisco on Monday night. They lost their third straight loss to the Golden State Warriors 121–116. On the other hand, Sengun’s success inside the Chase Center showed how important he was to the team.
At the end of the game, he had 13 boards, five assists, one block, and 30 points, the most points he had scored all season. Sengun scored 30 points, making him the first player for the Rockets this season to do so. He was iffy for the game because he had a back injury, but he did it anyway.
Even though they lost, Sengun’s tough showing made coach Ime Udoka happy. For Sengun’s progress, Udoka has been very important. He set Şengün up in the best way to do well in the game. Despite this, Udoka has taught his growing star the most important thing: confidence.
Under Udoka, Sengun has been more bold with his scoring. He has attempted a career-high 2.2 3-point field goals and made 34.6 percent.
He missed all six shots in the Rockets’ last four home games of their seven-game homestand. But Sengun didn’t give up. During the Rockets’ three-game road trip in California, he made five of ten extra-point shots.
Sengun made two 3-point field goals out of three tries against the Warriors. He has also shown how his offensive game has changed by adding the one-leg fadeaway to his arsenal.
Sengun has also shown that he is better at defense. Sengun helped the Rockets keep All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis, who scored 9.5 points, in check during their two-game series against the Sacramento Kings.
“Coach Ime is telling me all the time, every practice, every timeout, ‘shoot’,” Sengun said. “He has given me a lot of confidence. And now, I am not thinking. If I am open, I am shooting.”
Sengun has shown that he could be a star in his first two seasons. But as the Rockets start part II of their rebuild, Sengun said during the offseason that he thinks he will make a big step forward in his personal growth that could lead to being picked for the All-Star team.
It might not be too much to hope to become an All-Star for the first time. The Houston Rockets traded up to select the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and chose a rising star from Turkey.
After three years, Sengun is respected by his teachers, teammates, and peers. Although the Rockets lost to the Lakers by one point on Sunday night, Sengun became the youngest player in team history to score 2,000 points, grab 1,000 rebounds, and hand out 500 assists.
“He is getting more comfortable in every game,” LeBron James said. “Obviously, he can post very effectively. He has a great ball-handling ability, can see the floor, great passing. He is a really good young piece.”
