Alperen Sengun faced a whole lot of criticism for how he played in the Houston Rockets‘ 107-98 Game 1 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, but he also earned plenty of praise for a gesture before the game. A clip of Sengun appearing to stand up out of respect when LeBron James walked by him went viral on social media.
Sengun was commended for the act, but it turns out that wasn’t the reason he stood up. The Turkish center was asked about the video at practice on Monday, and clarified that he was just trying to get something out of his pocket.
“I just saw that video today,” Sengun said, via Big Sarge Media LLC. “I mean, everybody was sending it to me, too, but it’s kind of funny. I mean, I was just trying to get something out of my pocket. That’s why I got up. No disrespect to LeBron, of course, respect him, but I didn’t stood up for him. It was just something I was getting out of my pocket.”
If you have a closer look at the video, it is pretty apparent that Sengun was trying to find something in his pocket. You can check it out below.
Şengün stood up when LeBron took the court 🤝💯
(via @BigSargeSportz) pic.twitter.com/0MdsNLZ2wH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 20, 2026
There was talk about how Sengun standing up was down to Turkish culture and whatnot, but this ended up being a non-story. At the very least, it wasn’t anything malicious, so there’s nothing to be upset about.
What was upsetting, though, was how Sengun played against the Lakers. The two-time All-Star had 19 points (6-19 FG), eight rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block in Game 1.
With Kevin Durant getting ruled out due to a right knee contusion, Sengun was expected to step up and deliver against a Lakers team without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. His scoring and playmaking prowess were to lead his team to victory, but he put in a rather disappointing performance.
That Rockets offense was stuck in quicksand for much of the night. They went 35-93 (37.6%) from the field and 11-33 (33.3%) from beyond the arc.
Sengun could do nothing to get the Rockets going on offense. Worryingly, the 23-year-old also ended up being outplayed by the much-maligned Deandre Ayton.
The Rockets are in trouble if that continues to be the case, especially as Durant has not been cleared for Game 2. If he isn’t able to play and Sengun disappoints again, then the Lakers will go up 2-0.
While Sengun struggled in Game 1, James did not. The 41-year-old put up 19 points (9-15 FG), eight rebounds, 13 assists, two steals, and one block to help the Lakers get the win.
James was in facilitator mode at the start of this game, with eight assists in the first quarter, and then turned scorer in the fourth with nine points. This was the kind of performance you’d have expected from Sengun. He’ll be looking to make amends when Game 2 tips off at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
