Among a big list of players expected to miss the NBA All-Star weekend, the league office has chosen Alperen Sengun to replace the injured MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is missing the coveted weekend due to an abdominal strain.
Sengun has averaged 20.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 49.6% from the field and 29.8% from beyond the arc. In terms of fan votes, Sengun received the 10th-most(1,430,020) votes behind the likes of Kevin Durant and LeBron James.
But on the final results, which included player and media votes as well, Sengun finished 15th on the list in the West, tied on equal weighted scores with Cooper Flagg.
However, this year’s format requires international players for Team World. Hence, despite being behind the likes of Austin Reaves and James Harden, the Turkish center was picked to replace Gilgeous-Alexander.
This is not a shot at whether or not Sengun deserved to be there, but an explanation for why he was picked over other arguably equally deserving players to make it to the All-Star weekend.
Kevin Durant took to social media and also congratulated his teammate Sengun for the second All-Star selection in his career.
“Congrats 2 eight,” wrote the Rockets’ veteran superstar on his Instagram story.
Sengun now joins Durant, his teammate, for the All-Star weekend. This makes the Rockets the fourth team in the West with multiple All-Star selections this year, if you still count Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder. Meanwhile, the East still has only two (the Knicks and the Pistons).
Alperen Sengun Apologizes For Yelling At A Female Official
During the Rockets’ recent blowout loss to the Celtics, Alperen Sengun was ejected from the game in the fourth quarter after reportedly yelling at a female official. Following the Rockets’ win over the Thunder last night, Sengun addressed the incident that led to his ejection.
“Sometimes, you can’t control yourself, but I should have known better,” he said. “But I fixed it, and then I went to the locker room, and I apologized. I shook (her) hand and said that would never happen again. It just happened in the heat of the moment, and she understood, and we’re good now.”
While Sengun came under a lot of criticism from fans for his behavior, he immediately corrected his course. He also dropped a 17-point triple-double to lead the Rockets to a win over the Thunder last night. They now have back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday night (February 10, 11) against the Clippers before the All-Star weekend.
The Rockets center has been struggling to find consistency recently, but will hopefully use the All-Star weekend as fuel for his confidence to play at the highest and most competitive level in the second half of the season.
