Alperen Senguna Turkish striker of 2.11 m and only 21 years old for the Houston Rocketsbecame the NBAthe most popular player.
The center had an NBA triple-double of 23 points, 19 rebounds, 14 assists and 2 steals against the Clippersafter posting a career-high 45 points, 16 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals against Wembanyama‘s Spurs (the third center this decade to record at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals in a game, joining Nikola Jokic And Joel Embiid).
Dillon Brooks makes shocking claim about Luka Doncic
StatMuse reports that the numbers 23+19+14+2 are statistics never seen by a center in NBA history, not even Jokic reached them.
Shaquille O’Neal: “Alperen Sengun reminds me of a young Pau Gasol when he arrived in the NBA”
In the NBA, he has already been compared to Sabonis, Nikola Vucevic, Kevin Love, Bobby Portis, Kevin McHale, Tom Gugliotta… and even Paul Gasol.
“Alperen Sengun reminds me of a young Pau Gasol when he came to play his first years in the NBA. He shows that he can do a lot of things and if he is surrounded by talent he will do very well,” said the legendary Shaquille O’Neal.
He averaged 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.4 minutes this season for the Houston Rockets, who selected him with the 16th pick in the 2021 draft after having played in Turkey for Bandrma Krmz, Teksut Bandrma and Besiktas.
From almost becoming a swimmer to MVP in Türkiye and NBA star
He leaves the Turkish Basketball Super League in 2021 as the youngest MVP in its history (18 years and 10 months).
He then overcame family pressure to become a swimmer and, inspired by his brother Mayo, opted for basketball, which he began playing at Giresun University.
Ahmet Gurgen was the discoverer of Alperen Sengun and is responsible for moving young talents to Bandrma to play for Banvit.
In 2020, at just 18 years old, he signed a three-season contract with Powerhouse. Besiktaswhere he averaged 19.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks in 28.3 minutes on average in BSL.
