Sometimes the basic box score already tells most of the story. Turkey beat one of the EuroBasket 2025 favorites, Serbia, 95:90, and Alperen Şengün outplayed the best center in the world in their head to head matchup. The Rockets’ big man posted 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists against Nikola Jokić’s 22, 9, and 4. Naturally, numbers like these fuel Rockets fans’ imagination about the potential partnership between Şengün and Kevin Durant, making the words “Rockets” and “contender” seem to belong in the same sentence. The symbolism is only stronger given that Şengün is often seen as a “Baby Jokić”, an intelligent Point Center and gifted passer.

But The numbers alone don’t capture the nuances. We dissected Şengün’s performance, in video, to place it in the right context.

The most striking stat: Sengun's shooting. There’s no way to sugarcoat Şengün’s NBA numbers from deep: his career average is just 27.2%. Worse, the trend line is going down: 33.3% in his second season, 29.7% in his third, and only 23.3% last season. his playoff series against Golden State was an exception, when he went 3 for 8 from beyond the arc.

At EuroBasket, he opened with 0-for-3 over the first two games, went 2-for-3 against Estonia, then exploded against Serbia and Jokić with a 4 for 7 night. How rare is that? Şengün has only twice in his NBA career made three threes in a single game, the last time on December 2, 2023 in a 97:107 loss to the Lakers. During the 2024-25 season, he made two threes in a game only once, in a 105:110 loss to Charlotte on October 24.

Kelly Iko from The Athletic reported the Rockets worked with Şengün over the summer on his jumper. Serbian head coach Svetislav Pešić apparently didn’t get the memo. The scouting report must have said: don’t bother.

Early in the game, Serbia treated Şengün’s perimeter touches with indifference. Jokić didn’t even raise a hand on his first attempt and later ignored him even inside the arc. Only later did the Serbians adjust slightly, but it was clear that Şengün’s shooting wasn’t on the top of their worry list.

Here lies the biggest difference between the context in Turkey and in Houston. With the Rockets, Şengün was surrounded by mediocre shooters. Houston hit just 35.3% from three last season (21st in the NBA). Turkey, on the other hand, is loaded with shooters: naturalized guard Shane Larkin, former NBA players Cedi Osman and Furkan Korkmaz, and Anadolu Efes stretch 4 Erkan Osmani, all capable marksmen. Turkey shot 49.2% from three during the group stage and torched Serbia with a ridiculous 18 for 31 (58%).

Pešić focused his defensive game plan on shutting down Turkey’s perimeter shooting, especially in defending the pick and roll, the favorite action of Turkey's head coach Ergin Ataman. Serbia tried aggressive hedges and Ice coverage to disrupt Larkin, and Şengün exploited these coverages.

Şengün’s individual technique makes him an ideal pick and pop or short roll player. He takes full advantage of the recovery window when his defender helps in pick and roll, finishing with either hand, using a Eurostep on the catch, or finding open shooters in the corner.

The problem: The Rockets don’t have the same diversity of shooters or pick-and-roll ballhandlers who can punish defenses with shooting. Durant will improve spacing, but NBA coverages are generally more conservative - drop coverage or switches - meaning the clean looks Şengün saw at EuroBasket will be far less common.

The most intriguing trait, and one Houston must leverage, is Şengün’s ability to act as a ballhandler, much like Jokić does for Denver. The Rockets’ front court will be crowded next season: alongside Şengün (locked in as the starting 5) are Jabari Smith Jr., plus veterans Steven Adams and Clint Capela, who can both replace him and play next to him. If Şengün improves his shooting, he can also play at the 4, while helping Houston as a secondary ballhandler.

Against Serbia, when they denied Larkin the ball, Şengün brought it up himself and created an assist to Osman for a corner three; a pick-and-roll as the ballhandler that ended in an Adam Bona layup, and a handoff to Korkmaz for a triple. Houston might not just have found an upgraded center - they may have stumbled into their backup point guard.

Two traits of Şengün translate regardless of context: passing and passion. Against Serbia, his eight assists included a full court dime for a layup, a feed out off a post up, and a behind the back pass after grabbing an offensive rebound. He’s not at Jokić’s level yet in terms of floor vision, but at 23 he is clearly on the right track.

Above all, though, is his competitive fire. Şengün logged 36:13minutes, resting only 3:37, but played with constant aggression on both ends, guarding Jokić and attacking him. One sequence summed it up: with 3:23 left and Turkey down 84:88, he grabbed an offensive rebound after an Osman missed free throw, missed a Baby Hook, tipped it back to Osman (who missed again), grabbed another rebound and finally scored through 7 footer Nikola Milutinov, plus the foul. Minutes later, with Turkey up 91-90, Şengün came up with the game deciding steal.

Forget the distinctions in spacing or pick and roll coverages between Europe and the NBA. One thing is certain: Before winning his first NBA playoff series, Sengun has the competitive makeup of a winner.