Rockets' Alperen Sengun is Already Better Than Evan Mobley

On Wednesday, Alperen Sengun faced off against one of the game's best defenders in Golden State Warriors forward slash quasi-center Draymond Green. Sengun previously faced off against Green and the Warriors in the opening round of the 2025 playoffs and earned his respect afterwards, dropping 20.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 stocks, 45 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three (albeit on a measly 1.14 attempts).

In Wednesday's victory, Sengun dropped 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. With a timely turnaround fadeaway bucket in the waning moments of the fourth quarter when Golden State was doubling and keying in on Reed Sheppard, who torched them for 31 points.

Just theee games before, Sengun squared off against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who boast Evan Mobley -- the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 2024-25. 

Sengun fared even better, dropping a statline of 28 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, 10-of-17 from the field, 8-of-10 from the foul line and 65.4 percent true shooting.

When defended by Mobley, Sengun dropped 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-for-2 from the foul line and no turnovers. 

When defended by the league's "best defender".

Sengun's performance in the game was noticed and drew acclaim and acknowledgement. Everyone was tuned in, including Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports, who hosts the Kevin O'Connor Show. 

"Sengun continues to look like one of the best bigs in basketball. The dude added a three-pointer, he continues to flourish defensively. He completely outplayed Evan Mobley in that game.

I mean, Evan Mobley got some top-10, top-15 hype before the season. 

Sengun is a better player than Evan Mobley. It is not even a question. It is not even a debate at this point. 

This guy has made a dramatic leap, he's on an All-NBA pace, he is a clear-cut All-Star. A no-duh All-Star. 

This guy is a rising star. And the team is built around KD, but it's also built around Sengun as well."

O'Connor's take is noteworthy, as many initially held the view that the Rockets should have drafted Mobley over Jalen Green in the 2021 NBA Draft, due to Green’s inconsistencies throughout his four years in Houston. 

However, the Rockets also drafted a center in their own rights in the same draft.

And if he's already passed Mobley, then Houston made the right call. Especially since Green was used to bring in Kevin Durant, who's one of the game's greatest players ever.