Turkey is in the semi-final of 2025 EuroBasket, and it's thanks in large part to how Alperen Sengun looks to be an even better player than he was when he made his first All-Star Game en route to leading the Houston Rockets to a 52-30 record and the two-seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets star is shedding his “Baby Jokic” nickname and has become “Daddy Sengun”, and he continued his international star turn with a 19-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist performance in a 91-77 win over Poland in the quarterfinals of the competition.
However, this side of Sengun is a familiar one; he has stuffed plenty of stat sheets in the past, especially last season when he put up 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game for the Rockets. It's in the defensive side of the ball where Rockets head coach Ime Udoka is seeing plenty of strides from the Turkish star, and this would go a long way towards fueling Houston's championship hopes for next season.
“For him, we want him to work on specific things. The way they guard him over in Eurobasket, he's doing a great job of getting high assist numbers, being very efficient. … [He also] had some really big end of the game plays defensively that won them games it’s great to see the work he put in be rewarded,” Udoka said of Sengun's EuroBasket performance, via Lachard Binkley of Sports Illustrated.
Here Ime talks about what he discussed with Alperen Sengun and what he has seen from his during EuroBasket.
“Had some really big end of the game plays defensively that won them games it’s great to see the work he put in be rewarded.” pic.twitter.com/dlMwGqicPL
— Lachard Binkley (@BinkleyHoops) September 11, 2025
Sengun has been a bit of a defensive liability in the past, but it looks like age is bringing him wisdom on that end of the floor. Turkey would not have made it that far into the competition if he hadn't been holding his own defensively, and this has to make Rockets fans that much excited for what lies ahead.
Alperen Sengun looks to carry over Turkey's EuroBasket success into Rockets
Last year, the Rockets may have been the two-seed but they failed to make it past the first round. Sengun showed so much grit in fighting the likes of Draymond Green and Kevon Looney in the paint, but in the end it simply wasn't enough to shove Houston past their archrival, the Golden State Warriors.
But 2025 EuroBasket continued to show that Sengun does elevate his game when the lights are at their brightest. But on Friday is when Sengun's biggest defensive test of the summer will come when Turkey faces Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece in the semifinals of the competition.
