Alperen Sengun is the face of the Houston Rockets franchise. Kevin Durant might be the big dog on the Rockets, but they are still Alperen Sengun’s team. Playing with an All-Star-caliber talent like Sengun was one of the convincing factors that brought Durant to the Rockets.
In a recent conversation with Turkey’s renowned sports analyst Socrates Dergi, Alperen Sengun revealed his first conversation with Durant as a teammate, as well as a funny story about his interaction with him on the court.
“I gave him two weeks to settle in first, then I messaged him. I told him, ‘Welcome to the team, I can’t wait to play with you. We’re gonna have a great year.’ He replied immediately, saying, ‘We’re going to do great stuff this year.'”
“Last season, I told him one game, ‘Don’t come to double me, let me play one on one.’ He said, ‘No way, you’re an All-Star now. You’re no longer going to play one-on-one. Get used to it.’”
The 23-year-old averaged 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists last season to earn his first NBA All-Star appearance. He became the first active All-Star on the Rockets since James Harden left in 2021.
Alperen Sengun Talks Facing Warriors In Playoffs
During the interview with Dergi, Sengun also opened up on his first experience in an NBA Playoffs series. He admitted that they ended up facing the one team that gave them the most “trouble” in the season.
“The Warriors were probably the one team that would have given us the most trouble, and we drew them.”
“They’re a very experienced team, and they fouled a lot. In the playoffs, they don’t call it. But they were the ones crying all series about fouls not being called.”
“When it comes to us, we’re not really allowed to complain. It’s more of an internal thing. Ime Udoka doesn’t allow it. He loses his mind if we complain.”
The Rockets ended up forcing a Game 7 in that series that went down to the wire to a Buddy Hield masterclass in the final game.
The Warriors eventually came out on top as the Rockets realized they are in desperate need of a closing scorer, and Kevin Durant came into the team to fill that role.
But in the process of this defeat, the young core of the Rockets got some very valuable experience in the playoffs, which they can use to build on for their career.
With Kevin Durant now on this young team, they are primed to make a much deeper run in the Playoffs in 2025-26.
