Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Alperen Sengun joins big man royalty after first two playoff games

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Apr 24, 2025 8:28 AM ET

There was a dearth of quality big men in the NBA for years, as evidenced by the fact that Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid were the first centers to win MVP since Shaquille O'Neal in 2000.

Alperen Sengun, aptly nicknamed "Baby Jokic," is trending as the next 7-footer to make big men relevant again. The Turk had had 17 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists in the Rockets' 109-94 Game 2 win over the Warriors, helping his team draw level in the first-round series.

Sengun out-rebounded all Warriors starters (16 to 14) by himself and was a game-high +28 on the floor, but his impact was felt beyond the box score. The youngster controlled the tempo and prevented the Dubs from getting easy transition opportunities, a big adjustment after Steve Kerr's team had 16 fast-break points in Game 1.

Through his first two playoff games, Sengun has tallied 43 points, 25 rebounds and eight assists, joining a pair of legendary bigs in an exclusive list. The 22-year-old is also the second-youngest center in NBA history to record a 15/5/5 game in the postseason.

Alperen Sengun in the playoffs:

21.5 PPG
12.5 RPG
4.0 APG

Joins Kareem & Lanier as the only centers to reach these numbers in their first 2 playoff games. pic.twitter.com/c8fzuXFOiR
— Polymarket Hoops (@StatMamba) April 24, 2025

Alperen Sengun is the 2nd youngest center in NBA history to record a playoff game with 15/15/5. pic.twitter.com/83EkcgPw4h
— Real Sports (@realapp_) April 24, 2025

Sengun vs Golden State:

17 PTS
16 REB (6 OREB)
7 AST
2 STL
+28

The first Rocket since Pippen with a 15/15/5 playoff game. pic.twitter.com/oJtIXYxVze
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 24, 2025

The most significant difference between Sengun's first two playoff games was his playmaking. In Game 1, he finished with just one assist, which led to his team's offense getting stagnant. On Wednesday, he was more assertive in looking for his teammates, making several great reads that caught Golden State's defense off guard.

After the game, Sengun explained why his playmaking unlocks Houston's offense and gives it a better shot at winning.

"In the first game, they were helping a lot [on defense], so we watched film to see what's going on," Sengun said. "In the second game, I wanted to be more careful and see the floor more, and Jalen [Green] was going off, so I was just trying to find him...Today, my job was to just try and find the open guys, and get the others going."

With his first career playoff win in the books, Sengun is hungry for more. After Wednesday's win, he made it clear that the Rockets aren't intimidated about going to the Chase Center for Games 3 and 4.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

More must-reads: