It took one play for Rockets' Alperen Sengun to prove he's built different

The Houston Rockets earned a much-needed 122-115 win over the Bucks on Sunday. Alperen Sengun made a play down the stretch that secured the win.

This has to be the Rockets' play of the year, right? What else could happen?

Truly incredible. It's not just how impressive the play is. It's what the play says about Sengun. There may not be another center in the league who can stave off aggressive Antetokounmpo defense to take the ball up the floor and finish a play.

Sengun is one of one.

Rockets have a bona fide point center

Sengun has been compared to Nikola Jokic throughout his entire career. In 2025-26, he's been inviting even more of those comparisons.

Let's be honest - nobody is Nikola Jokic. Some feel that he's the best offensive player in NBA history. If he wins another championship, he'll be in serious talks as the best center ever. That's not a fair bar for Sengun - or anybody.

Yet, there are certain ways in which Jokic can't match Sengun, either.

In this situation? Jokic is likely to turn the ball over. He's slower and less agile, so the Bucks would have trapped him. There are precious few big men in the league who could handle this pressure from Antetokounmpo. Perhaps the Timberwolves' Naz Reid comes to mind, but as good as Reid is, he's not Sengun.

Reid is closer to an off-guard in a 4/5's body. Sengun is a legitimate point center.

That's especially important for the Rockets this year.

Rockets' Sengun is developing at a perfect time

The elephant in the room: the Rockets lost their starting point guard for the entire season. They could not have a more pressing need for a point center.

So, Sengun's emergence has been critical.

If anything, Sunday was one of his weaker "point guard" games. Sengun had 7 dimes and 5 turnovers. The Rockets still trusted him at the end of the game, and Sengun vindicated that trust.

On the season, the big man is now averaging 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 3.7 turnovers per game. You'd like those turnovers to come down, but this is Sengun's first year with increased playmaking responsibility, and he's making the most of it.

He's got a 5.0 Box Plus/Minus (BPM). Sengun has emerged as a superstar. He's likely to land in MVP talks by the end of the year:

It only took one play for him to prove he deserves it.