Rockets’ Potential All Star Alperen Sengun Reveals Crucial Lesson from Joel Embiid

The Houston Rockets found a gem in the Turkish-born Alperen Sengun. The team’s massive success is in large part due to the 21-year-old’s breakout season. He is averaging 21.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game this season. And that must be why he is getting a lot of attention from top players in the league.

After the January 13th matchup with Philly, a wholesome clip of Joel Embiid and Sengun was making the rounds on social media. Fans offered different projections as to what the two centers conversed. And now, the Turkish BSL MVP has revealed it himself.

Alperen Sengun opens up about his talk with Embiid

Joining the Complex Sports’ I Got Time Today segment, Sengun gives his take on the different tweets about him. And one of them was about his tête-à-tête with Joel. The tweet said that it looked like Alperen was getting some advice on double teams from Embiid. Sengun, for his part, said, in all seriousness, that it was a lesson on how to foul. He quickly laughs it off and says, “I’m kidding. He was just teaching me how to attack defensive big players.”

Sengun reminisces about the moment with a smile. He says that after the game, Joel just walked up to him and complimented him on his defensive skills. But at the same time, when somebody is guarding you like that, the right way to go about it is to attack. “It was really cool,” he adds, suggesting the appreciation he had for the advice from one of the league’s dominant centers.

After James Harden, the Rockets are yet to have an All-Star player from the team. With Sengun’s arrival, the rumors have picked up pace on him taking Houston to glory. And they wouldn’t be wrong. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why he is worthy of being an All-Star.

Why the Rockets’ 6’11 center is an All-Star caliber player

The first and foremost reason is that Houston‘s defense has seen a major incline since Alperen’s breakout. He uses his size and 235-pound frame to guard taller players while taking his chance with perimeter commanders. Sengun is persistent in his efforts to disrupt the flow of his opponent’s shots. As such, the players on the other side are shooting over 3% less efficiently when he is on the court as compared to the last season.

Read More: “How Are They Gonna Guard Me?”: First Time All Star Alperen Sengun on Playing Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic

The second aspect where Alperen Sengun has made his mark is his playmaking ability. Selfless with the ball, he is dishing out five assists per game this season. We have seen him with great chemistry with Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green on-court, passing the ball to them 61.4% of the time. Letting the scorers do their job has kept the team’s offense smooth. With his flashy passes and uncanny ability to always find his teammates, it’s no wonder he’s referred to as Baby Jokic.

These are just a few aspects of the constantly evolving player that Sengun is. He makes a strong case for himself in the All-Star contention. Hopefully, we can see him on the Western Conference’s reserves list!

Watch This Story: Will Alperen Sengun Become the First All-Star Out of Houston Since James Harden?