First a triple-double, then a career-high 33 points. Alperen Şengün is shining on the NBA flooring at the age of 21. The road story of the young star from Turkey to Houston:
Alperen Şengün was born and raised in 2002 in Giresun, on the Black Sea coast of Turkey. His father, Kemal Şengün, played basketball in his youth. He wanted both of his sons to be involved with the red ball. However, opportunities in Giresun were limited. It was just these days that trainer Salim Taslı, a high school friend of Kemal Bey, returned from the USA years later and intended to revive basketball activities in the city.
“In the summer of 2010, I made an idle hall available for training with the support of Giresun University. Kemal also wanted to send his eldest son Alican to our training. But Alican was 16 years old. It is not possible to give basketball training to a child that age. He said, 'I will send my little son Alperen then'. I met Alperen for the first time in September that year. He was an eight-year-old boy with red cheeks, much taller than his age.”
The coach issued the first athlete licenses of more than 200 students, including Alperen, at Kumyalı Şafakspor. Then, they were transferred to the Yeşil Giresun Belediyespor infrastructure together. They transferred to the newly established Giresun University Sports Club. Salim Taslı taught Alperen everything he knew for four years…
That coincidence in Denizli
Salim Taslı quickly realized that the future of his young student was beyond Giresun. In order for it to move forward, it needed to be together with the best of Turkey. He asked Anadolu Efes's coaches and did not get a positive answer. Then he called Fenerbahçe and learned that they could not provide accommodation in Istanbul. Just at this time, they went to Denizli to participate in the Turkey Junior Festival, which can be considered the national championship of the 11-12 age group in the summer of 2014...
$15.5 million over four years
Alperen Şengün signed a four-year contract with the Rockets in 2021. According to this contract, he received a gross wage of 3 million 210 thousand dollars last season. His fee this season is 3 million 380 thousand dollars. Next year's fee will be 3 million 540 thousand dollars, and the fourth year will be 5 million 420 thousand dollars.
“Alperen runs to one basket and another like a giant on the field. Of course, he draws attention with what he does on the field. I took my three daughters to watch that tournament. As Alperen scores, my girls applaud and cheer for him. It turned out that right behind them was Ahmet Gürgen, the infrastructure coordinator of the Banvit club. “Do you know this boy and his trainer?” he asked. He liked Alperen very much and wanted to take him to Banvit,” Taslı explains. A meeting was held that very evening. Salim Taslı said to Alperen's family, 'This kid needs to go to a place where there is basketball'. It was decided in 10 days. 12-year-old Alperen took the road to Bandırma.
In a hostel in Bandırma
Banvit was one of the best breeder clubs in Turkey in men's basketball until 2020. In last year's European Championship, there were five players trained at Banvit in the squad of the Turkish National Team. Alperen was one of them. Banvit club searched Anatolia to find talented young people and followed the tournaments of all age groups. Then it recruited young people in the 10-15 age group, and young basketball player candidates lived in the club's hostel facilities. However, the first days were not easy for 12-year-old Alperen.
One season was enough for Alperen Şengün to enter the agenda of Turkish and world basketball. Beşiktaş basketball team was in a big financial bottleneck in the summer of 2020. Right in the midst of the pandemic, he was having trouble forming a new staff. That's when an opportunity arose. The Banvit club was closed and its young players were left in the middle. Six or seven young players in that squad moved to Beşiktaş. Initially, the team was viewed as relegated because there were only three American players. But Alperen, who was only 18, made the best use of this opportunity. With 18.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 2.7 assists averages, he carried Beşiktaş to the middle of the league and was named the best player of the season in the Basketball Super League.
In a short time, he entered the radar of not only European but also NBA teams. “While the season was going on, the scouts of eight different NBA teams called me and got information about Alperen,” says Mehmet Yağmur, who was the captain of Beşiktaş that season: “They asked about his behavior outside of basketball rather than on the field. They wondered if he was spoiled or clever. During the season, I tried to help his development. I insisted that he learn English.”
The draft night captain came
It was clear that Alperen would enter the NBA Draft in the spring of 2021. Before the draft, Alperen went to trial training for many NBA teams at the beginning of the summer. First impressions were positive. It was said that he would be selected in the top 10 places.
Before that draft in New York, at the Brooklyn Nets' lounge, he had no one but his agent and lawyer with him. His family's visa procedures were not completed. That's when a helping hand came from the captain. While Mehmet Yağmur was in Çeşme with his twin daughters for summer vacation, he received a phone call from Alperen. Let's hear the rest from him: “He was calling me for draft night. ‘Brother, come on. You know English too, you can help me,' he said. I said, 'I can't leave my girls and my sick dog. What he did, convinced me. As I jumped into the car, I took the Izmir highway. First I went to Istanbul, and from there I bought a ticket and went to New York. Alperen was incredibly happy. I wish I had gone a few days ago. We were like brothers and sisters on draft day. I dressed his with the tailors before the stage. Even when he first went on stage, he was video calling me from five meters away out of excitement.”
The Oklahoma Thunder team eventually picked Alperen 16th but joined the Houston Rockets in an instant trade.
The most striking points in Alperen's one-and-a-half-season NBA adventure are his self-confidence and his openness to self-development. According to his former captain Mehmet Yağmur, he plays with such self-confidence that it is as if he has been in the NBA for years. He adds something to his game every day.
When Alperen made his way to the USA in 2021, his English consisted of only three or five words. The Rockets team brought former basketball player Orhun Güngören to Houston to be his translator and companion.
She was translating for him not only in daily life but also in training and matches. During the match, he was sitting right behind the bench and relaying what coach Silas had told Alperen. However, this period seems to be far behind. Now we are watching an Alperen who uses English very well.
There is an Alperen who jokes with the fans on event days and gives a very comfortable interview at the end of the match.
Alperen, with a height of 2.11, showed himself from time to time in his first season in the NBA, playing 20.7 minutes per game and averaging 9.6 points. This season, he has become a top 5 player. It now takes almost 28 minutes per game. His points average is 14.9 and his rebound average is 8.7. But there's a small problem: The Houston Rockets are the worst team in the entire NBA this season. They have lost 34 of their 44 matches so far.
For example, the losing streak that started on December 27 has played 11 games and is still going on. What will be Alperen's role in the remake of the Rockets, which is full of very young players?
When Alperen made his way to the NBA at a very young age and performed well on the field, he began to break some statistical records. For example, last Wednesday he had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Sacramento Kings. In other words, it produced two-digit statistics in three different categories. And he became the youngest player to do so in all of NBA history. Who broke the record? Shaquille O'Neal is one of the legendary centers of the NBA.
Likewise, Alperen broke another record of Shaq, this time in the game they lost to the Lakers 140-132 last Monday. He also became the youngest center to reach 30 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists in a single game in NBA history.
Likewise, he became the youngest player in the history of the Houston Rockets to reach 30 points and 15 rebounds.