Alperen Sengun has been dubbed “Baby Jokic” ever since his rookie season for the Rockets showed the world a few glimpses of his versatility and skills. But now, four years into his NBA career, the Turkish center is still living up to the reputation of playing like Nikola Jokic, a man dubbed the best player in the world by many experts, players, and fans.
Turkey faced Latvia in their first fixture of the group stages at EuroBasket. They destroyed Latvia and came out on top, winning the game by 20 points (73-93). Cedi Osman led all scorers with 20 points, but Alperen Sengun stuffed the box score as he had 16 points with seven assists and eight rebounds.
Even Latvian players were impressed with how Sengun performed on the floor. Following the game, Latvian player Kristaps Porzingis, who also plays for the Hawks, spoke to the media about Alperen Sengun.
“I mean, he’s good, he’s talented. It’s like, how he spins around off the body and this, like he’s really good at this, you know? One of the best, he’s like a Baby Jokic,” said Porzingis.
“And his passing ability and how he makes his teammates better, credit to him for sure,” he further added.
Even before the game, Porzingis had high praise for Sengun and called him a “beast.” Porzingis struggled in the game and was on the receiving end of multiple poster dunks in the game.
He finished the game with 10 points along with four rebounds, and one assist. While he will remember this as the game where Turkey dominated his team, it is surely a performance he would want to forget in the rest of the tournament.
Turkish Player Picks Sengun Over Dirk Nowitzki, Brook Lopez, And Al Horford
Alperen Sengun’s Turkish teammate, Shane Larkin, was drafted to the NBA in 2013 by the Dallas Mavericks. He played alongside the likes of Dirk Nowitzki, Brook Lopez, and Al Horford in his NBA career. Yet, he picked Alperen Sengun as the best center he has ever played with.
“He’s probably the best center I’ve ever played with… even over Dirk Nowitzki,” said Larkin, according to a social media account, in a post that has now been deleted after Larkin clarified his statement.
“I said… Dirk was a 4 man. A PF. Stop trying to create madness,” he wrote on social media.
Even if you exclude Nowitzki from this comparison, he still ranked Sengun over Brook Lopez, who is the highest scorer in the Nets’ franchise history, and Al Horford, a five-time All-Star. This is a significant praise given to him so early in his career, especially when he has only been selected in the All-Star game once.
It shows the level of potential that NBA-caliber talent sees in Sengun. No wonder the Rockets consider him to be their franchise player.
