NBA All-Star 2024: Alperen Sengun Sends Shockwaves as Rockets Star Leaves James Harden and Kyrie Irving in the Dust

The Houston Rockets have been one of the surprise packages of the 2023-24 season. For the past few seasons, the Rockets have been one of the worst teams in the league. However, key offseason additions of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, coupled with the strategic brilliance of HC Ime Udoka, have made the Rockets a playoff contender. No player has emphasized the Rockets’ growth under Udoka more than Alperen Sengun.

The 21-year-old center has become the offensive anchor of a young and promising Rockets team. His exceptional performances haven’t gone unnoticed, as he could become the first Rockets player since James Harden to play in the All-Star game.

Will Sengun become an All-Star?

With the All-Star game around the corner, the NBA released its third return of the Western Conference All-Star voting. While the West is headlined by the usual suspects like LeBron, Curry, Durant, and Luka, one name that has surprised many is Alperen Sengun. The Turkish center garnered 1,345,996 votes, which is the ninth-highest tally in the Western Conference. More fans have voted for him than the likes of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Anthony Edwards. However, there’s still time for other players to catch up, as the voting line closes on 20th January.

Alperen Sengun has shown a gradual improvement over the course of his three seasons. The Houston Rockets drafted Sengun with the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Originally an afterthought to Houston’s draft night addition of Jalen Green, Sengun quickly gained respect from his colleagues due to his exceptional playmaking skills. His team-oriented style of play and adept playmaking drew comparisons to Jokic, leading many to dub him “Baby Jokic”.

Jokic even praised Sengun in a press conference earlier this season. He said, “I think it is a good thing that they are playing a little bit more through him. I think that is going to benefit the whole organization. He is a guy who is not selfish. He wants to play for the team and he wants to pass. The whole team is going to move when the ball is in his hands.” With Sengun at the helm, what does the future hold for the Rockets organization?

A promising future for the Houston Rockets

For the last two seasons, the Houston Rockets were one of the worst teams in the league. In fact, they had a record of 42 wins and 122 losses before the start of the 2023-24 season. However, Ime Udoka has had a transformative effect on the Rockets organization as a whole. Under his leadership, the Rockets have become a defensively sound team, which wasn’t the case under the previous coach.

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One of the main changes that has come to define his successful tenure as the Rockets’ coach is that he has given the keys to the offense to Sengun instead of Jalen Green. With Sengun running the offense, the Rockets have become a much more versatile and dynamic offensive threat. The Rockets’ core group of players is still very young. But with the immense strides the team has taken under Udoka, the Rockets have the potential to emerge as one of the standout teams in the league in the coming years.

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