Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun has been diagnosed with a severely sprained right ankle and a bone bruise on his knee following a massive injury scare against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Sengun fell hard to the ground and immediately clutched at his right knee while attempting to block Kings center Domantas Sabonis' shot attempt. After reviewing the video, Sengun's ankle turned funny upon landing, resulting in his whole leg collapsing below him. The Rockets center was escorted to the locker room in a wheelchair, and he was in a lot of pain while leaving the court.
Alperen Sengun is down and holding his knee after an awkward fall.
Prayers up 🙏pic.twitter.com/UQjcFlSpYW
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 11, 2024
The Rockets big man left this game with 14 points and six rebounds in roughly 29 minutes of play. Houston went on to defeat the Kings 112-104 following Sengun's injury.
While no official timeframe has been given for Alperen Sengun's road to recovery, this injury will likely sideline him for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
In a total of 63 games this season, Sengun has averaged 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. Recently, he recorded a career-high 45 points against rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
The third-year center took a massive leap for the Rockets and cemented himself as one of their focal points for years to come. Although Houston explored the possibility of signing other veteran centers last offseason, the 21-year-old Turkish big man is one of the faces of this young, rising Rockets organization. If he is unable to play in anymore games this season, Sengun will be ineligible for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award.
With 18 games remaining on their schedule, the Rockets find themselves outside of the Western Conference play-in tournament picture at 29-35 overall. It would take a miracle for them to make the postseason at this point, especially with Sengun now sidelined indefinitely.
The Rockets will provide an official update on Sengun's status and when the team's medical staff will re-evaluate him in the near future.
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