The Houston Rockets have had a history of having star caliber big men. From Hakeem Olajuwon to Ralph Sampson to Moses Malone, the franchise has had some of the best centers to ever play the game don a Rockets jersey. In more recent seasons, the Rockets have had Dwight Howard who is arguably a Hall of Fame talent, and budding star Alperen Sengun man the middle. Following the Rockets win against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday, Sengun became the first Rockets center since Dwight Howard with at least five games of 30+ points in a season as per StatMuse.

During the Rockets win against the Nets, Alperen Sengun finished with 30 points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and one blocked shots. He shot 11-17 from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line. Sengun has become one of the most well-rounded centers in the NBA and a possible All-Star candidate.

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Dwight Howard (2024 image, wearing normal clothes) in middle. Lakers' LeBron James on left shooting a basketball, Bulls' Michael Jordan on right shooting a basketball.

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Former Lakers center Dwight Howard in a superman costume next to Nuggets center Nikola Jokic

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Rockets' Alperen Sengun and Jalen Green with Calvin Murphy

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Sengen was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft. He is in his third season in the NBA and has improved each year. This year he's been averaging a career-high 21.3 points per game, 9.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 54.4 percent shooting from the field, 30.9 percent shooting from the three point line and 72.8 percent shooting from the free throw line.

Behind Sengun's efforts, the Rockets have the started the season 16-15. They are currently in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. That is a vast improvement from last season when they won a total of 22 games. They are on pace to finish way above that mark.