Alperen Sengun was recently drafted from Turkey last year to the NBA
The 19-year old who was drafted from Turkey last year into the NBA is now making a big name for himself. Şengün is currently an NBA rookie who was 16th overall draft last year in 2021. He was picked up by Oklahoma City and later traded to Houston Rockets.
Şengün is an exceptional talent and has proven it day and again with his performances. During his childhood, he was asked to pursue a career in swimming but he chose basketball instead. The young man started from the bottom and is now at new heights.
In 2012, Şengün started playing youth basketball with the youth teams of the sports club of Giresun University. He played for the University till 2014. Post which, he signed a youth contract with Banvit. In 2018-19 season, he won the Turkish Basketball Junior League championship with the Banvit’s juniors and was also awarded the Turkish Junior League’s MVP.
Şengün began his professional club career in the 2018–19 TBL season with the Bandırma Kırmızı. Kırmızı is a second division club at the Turkish First League (TBL). He played 29 games in Turkey’s 2nd division and averaged 10.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game, in 21.9 minutes per game. For the 2019-20 season, Şengün joined first division Turkish Super League (BSL) club Teksüt Bandırma, He played 22 games there and averaged 5.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game.
The man from Giresun then joined the Turkish club Beşiktaş in 2020 on a three-year contract. He played 34 games for the club and averaged 18.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks, in 28.1 minutes per game. This season with Besiktas earned him fame from around the world and a ticket to the NBA.
In May 2021, he was declared for the 2021 NBA draft. He was selected sixteenth overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Round 1 of the 2021 NBA Draft. Şengün was then traded to the Houston Rockets for two future first-round picks. For his 2021-2022 NBA season, Şengün scored a total of 118 assists, 223 rebounds, and 414 points, which is praiseworthy for a rookie. Şengün has represented the Houston rockets in a total of 49 games and recorded the above-stated stats. He is still a young player in the NBA and has years left ahead of him, going by his stats he is going to be a threat.
Although all of Rocket’s last five games have resulted in a loss, Şengün delivered more or less all of them. Against, Phoenix he scored 14 rebounds and 3 assists while delivering not so good performances against the likes of Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans. Overall, he has recorded some decent stats this season, and considering this to be his first season, he is on the perfect path. With experience and dedication, he can become the next big thing in the game.
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