With averages of 14.8 points (55.3% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers), 9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, young Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun took a leap forward in his second NBA season.
Even stars like Nikola Jokic, the back-to-back league MVP, went out of his way during the 2022-23 year to urge Houston to run more offense through its creative 20-year-old big man out of Turkey.
Buy Rockets TicketsNow, add eight-time All-Star Paul George — currently of the Los Angeles Clippers — to a growing list of NBA royalty to show respect to Sengun. On a new episode of “Podcast P with Paul George,” George had this to say about Sengun (hat tip Rexwell Villas, Clutch Points):
He’s been doing it all season long and he’s been getting some recognition, but I think more so now. … He’s showing his true personality. His true self is starting to shine through. He’s a big dog. Beast.
He’s got shades of Marc Gasol and Pau Gasol. He’s got shades of Jokic, and the great bigs that can pass, shoot and playmake. I love his game, he can do it all. He’s a super, super high IQ player.
The greatest part of his game is his playmaking. I’ve seen some flashiness where he’s on some Magic (Johnson) type sh*t. He can hoop.
In four games versus the Clippers this season, Sengun averaged 17.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 30.5 minutes. He shot 56.8%. It certainly seems to have to have caught George’s attention.
The complete podcast can be viewed below, with the Sengun discussion starting at approximately the 53 minute mark.
