Rockets' Alperen Sengun Ranks as 11th-Best International Player

The globalization of the NBA has been especially notable of late. We haven't had an American-born MVP winner since 2017-18, when James Harden nabbed the award, becoming just the third player in the history of the Houston Rockets franchise to win the award. 

Granted, the game has been expanding internationally since the 1980s, which the Rockets contributed to when they drafted Nigerian-born Hakeem Olajuwon in the 1984 draft class that also featured Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and Charles Barkley, among other Hall of Fame players. 

Houston has had a litany of international players over the years, including Yao Ming, Luis Scola, Samuel Dalembert, Dikembe Mutombo, Boštjan Nachbar, Usman Garuba, and Boban Marjanovic, to name a few.

Not to mention Pablo Prigioni, who played significant minutes during the Rockets' 2015 title run.

The Rockets also shelled out a hefty amount of cash to the Denver Nuggets for the draft rights to Sergio Llull shortly after the 2009 NBA Draft, paying $2.25 million -- a record for a second-round pick at the time.

Llull unfortunately never played for the franchise.

The current Rockets feature a trio of foreign-born standout centers in Clint Capela, Steven Adams, and Alperen Sengun.

The latter is one of the league's best at the center position, as he made his first All-Star team last season.

According to Fadeaway World's Eddie Bitar, Sengun is also the league's 11th-best international player, heading into the 2025-26 season.

"Alperen Sengun is blossoming into one of the most unique bigs in the NBA, a player who blends old-school post skills with some creative playmaking. 

The Rockets’ offense often flows through him, and his ability to punish smaller defenders while finding cutters has drawn natural Jokic comparisons. 

He may not be at that level yet, but Sengun’s trajectory screams future All-Star mainstay. We expect the Turkish center to reach another level in 2025-26 as he builds upon his EuroBasket experience."

Sengun has drawn endless comparisons to Nikola Jokic -- the Denver Nuggets MVP center -- as both possess rare passing ability for their size. He's also been compared quite often to Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis for much of the same reasons. 

Interestingly enough, Jokic and Sabonis both ranked ahead of Sengun, with Jokic taking the top spot and Sabonis coming in seventh place. 

Although Sengun is known more for his offensive ability, he's made significant strides on the defensive end of the floor, so much that Rockets coach Ime Udoka, a known defensive-leaning coach.