4 Players Rockets' Alperen Sengun can leapfrog in recent NBA rankings

The Houston Rockets have a budding star in Alperen Sengun.

He's got sky-high potential. Sengun has holes in his game. He struggles to defend the pick-and-roll, and he's not much of a floor spacer.

He's such a talented interior scorer that it may not matter anyway.

Action Network agrees. They just published their list of the Top 100 players in the NBA, and named Sengun the 40th-best player in the league.

We're not here to contest them. Sengun's ranking seems fair to us. That said, he's among the younger players in the Top 40. Sengun has every opportunity to climb these rankings in 2024-25.

Here are four players we think he can leapfrog.

1. James Harden (25)

Starting with the Rockets' former franchise player is strictly a coincidence. We're working in chronological order.

Arguably, Sengun has already surpassed Harden. The Beard posted a Box Plus/Minus (BPM) of 4.1 in 2024-25. Sengun reached 4.9. Case closed?

No. One could argue that Harden can still find a higher gear if he needs to. He's getting grandfathered into his place to some extent, and rightfully so. This is a relatively recent MVP winner - Harden deserves some benefit of the doubt.

Still, Sengun has the opportunity to eclipse him in 2024-25. It's a simple matter of opposite trajectories. Harden should be aging out of star production soon, while Sengun is still ascending.

2. Domantas Sabonis (27)

Here's another player that Sengun may have already surpassed.

Interestingly, Sabonis is one of the players Sengun is most commonly compared to. It's an obvious comparison. Sengun and Sabonis are both big men who'd prefer to operate closer to the basket offensively. They're both problematic when defending elite guards at times as well.

Here's where they diverge: Sabonis has a system built around his strengths. He and De'Aaron Fox work dribble hand-offs to the point of exhaustion, and it's an optimal system for them both. Unlike the Kings, the Rockets are still a work in progress. This roster is not tailored to Sengun's strengths (yet).

Until it is, it could be difficult for him to get ahead of Sabonis. That said, the Kings added DeMar DeRozan this summer. If he can't find his way in Sabonis and Fox's system, Sengun could post more impressive stats than his counterpart in 2024-25.

3. Pascal Siakam (30)

This will be a tougher sell for some fans.

Siakam is a bonafide two-way player. He's a 6'9" wing who can guard 2-through-5 in a pinch. For some, that will prevent Sengun from topping him in these rankings.

That's a fair position. Although, it's worth noting that Siakam posted a BPM of 2.5 last year. That's far behind Sengun. Where we're splitting hairs between Harden and Sengun, there's a gulf between the Rockets star and Siakam.

BPM isn't the be-all, end-all. Still, Sengun is a far more dynamic offensive player than Siakam. If he can continue to progress on that end, his overall impact may comfortably outweigh Siakam's despite the defensive gap.

4. Derrick White (37)

This will be the easiest sell for other fans. White's placement will be ludicrous to some.

Don't expect agreement in this article.

White is fantastic. His main selling point is his portability. White is a knockdown shooter and a high-level defender, and he can orchestrate your offense in a pinch. He'd find heavy minutes on every team in the NBA. Action Network has rated him appropriately here.

That said - White is a role player. Sengun is a high-usage offensive fulcrum. As long as he continues to improve, it should only be a matter of time before he surpasses someone like White in any player rankings.

That's what happens when you're a rising star like Sengun.