The Rockets have suddenly propelled themselves to title contenders after trading for Kevin Durant this summer. Some might argue that the Rockets’ rebuild was nearly complete even without Durant and only see him as the cherry on the cake that is the Rockets’ roster. But one key reason why they have suddenly become a must-watch team is due to the All-Star leap of their franchise player, Alperen Sengun.
The Rockets’ 23-year-old center from Turkey broke out as an All-Star last season after a stellar campaign to lead the Rockets to the Playoffs for the first time since James Harden’s exit. The NBA world, including current and former players, has recognized how crucial Sengun has been to the Rockets’ revival. Among them is Carmelo Anthony.
The former NBA player recently made a bold claim about Sengun. On the latest episode of his ‘7 PM in Brooklyn’ show, Anthony said he believes Sengun could be an MVP candidate in the 2025-26 season. And that is mainly due to the addition of Durant to the roster.
“He could be MVP,” said Anthony on the show. “Are we talking about MVP candidates? Like Sengun could be an MVP candidate.”
“Think about this, KD never played with a big man that you could throw the ball into, and the offense could be run through the center. Somebody who could go twirling on the block. Somebody who could play up top. Somebody who has a similar game to Jokic,” Anthony explained.
“But like KD never played on the team with that type of big man like that. He never played on the team with a Thompson twin, like a Thompson twin is like a Swiss Army knife. He does so many different things. So to be able to have that Van Vleet, you know, I know he’s out for the season, but you’ve never been around a group of guys like that,” Anthony further added.
“Every time you had guards. You had Russ, you had James, you had Kyrie, you had Steph, and Klay. You know what I mean? Like you had guards around you. Now you can just play on the wing, and I can just throw the ball to Sengun or play in a pick-and-roll with Sengun. You pick your poisons because Son is going to score or get fouled. I’m going to score or do something with it. Pick your poison with that,” said Anthony in conclusion.
Alperen Sengun averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.0 assists while shooting 53% from the field in 2023-24. In 2024-25, he maintained his offensive consistency and increased his rebounding to average a double-double with 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while shooting 49.6% from the field.Â
During the summer, he was named on the All-Tournament team while playing for Turkey at EuroBasket, where he led his national team to their first final in the past 24 years and won the silver medal. With a threat like Durant to help give Sengun more offensive freedom, do you think Anthony was right to believe that the Turkish center could become an MVP candidate this season? Let us know what you think in the comments section.
