LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 19: Alperen Sengun #28 of the Houston Rockets reacts after an offensive charge call against Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the fourth quarter at Crypto.com Arena on November 19, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

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Alperen Sengun is finally getting noticed. Last season, he was named to his first All-Star game. And this summer, he was named to the EuroBasket All-Tournament team after averaging 21.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game. During the NBA regular season, he averaged 31.5 minutes per game in 76 games, along with 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game, shooting 49.6% from the floor but just 23.3% from long distance.

He also got major recognition for his much improved defense over the course of the season, ranking highly league-wide and amongst big men in several advanced metric categories, to the extent one finds such measures reliable. Notably, he was able to stay on the floor in the postseason against the Golden State Warriors in the postseason, and not be a liability, something critics have said he would not be able to do dating back to the moment he first entered the league.

What’s ahead for Sengun in 2025-2026? For starters, Kevin Durant is in, and Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and Fred VanVleet are out (due to an injury in VanVleet’s case). That means that Sengun will play next to an elite scorer in Durant but also need to shoulder more of the playmaking load this season. Will we see more Senhub from the Rockets offense?

Steven Adams is back, re-signed over the summer, and Clint Capela is also back in Houston; per reports, the Rockets plan to play big as much as possible, having liked what they saw from the “double big” lineups last season which featured Sengun and Adams sharing the court together. With both big men on the floor, Houston crushed opponents on the glass and Sengun was able to impose his will inside being covered by a smaller defender.

The biggest area of focus for Sengun next season will be recapturing his scoring efficiency from his first years in the league. In 2023-2024, Sengun shot 53.7% overall from the floor and 56.7% on two point field goals. But in 2024-2025, those figures dipped to 49.6% overall and 51.9%. Perhaps the cause of the dipped efficiency was fatigue from the increased effort Sengun was putting forth on the defensive end? Perhaps he was still regaining strength from the severe right ankle sprain he suffered on March 10, 2024?

In any event, now that he’s shored up his defense, to truly be considered amongst the best big men in the league, and to challenge for an All-NBA selection, Sengun will need to regain his scoring touch. He talked about this at Rockets media day last week. It would go a long way towards the Rockets achieving their postseason goals.