Rockets' Alperen Sengun will leap this star big man in 2025-26

The Houston Rockets know Alperen Sengun is one of the best big men in the NBA. The world is waking up to that fact - HoopsHype just named him the fourth-best big man in the league.

That's fine. It's respectable. It should be considered a nod for a player heading into his fourth year:

It may actually be too low.

Let it be said that player rankings are fraught with subjectivity. There are often very fine lines dividing these guys. The three players ahead of Sengun are Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Let's break that down...

Rockets big man may be underrated

Jokic is a simple case. He's better. Jokic is better than everyone. Next!

I'll give a relatively quick nod to Wembanyama as well. If there's a case against him, it's team success. Still, it's obvious that the Spurs aren't in the same place as the Rockets, so it's hard to hold that against the French phenom.

Towns is where the conversation gets interesting. As talented as the Knicks' big man is, there's a case that Sengun has already surpassed him.

Box Plus/Minus (BPM) thinks so. Sengun's 4.4 mark from 2024-25 surpasses Towns' 3.6. That's not a substantial enough gap to close the conversation, but it's meaningful.

Let's talk skill sets. Towns is obviously the far superior shooter. He likely always will be. Otherwise, Sengun has him knocked in most areas.

He's a far better playmaker. Towns is a solid passer, but he doesn't have Sengun's creativity. Sengun has also developed into the superior defender between the two.

The point isn't that Sengun is the vastly superior player - he isn't. The point is that it's close. Sengun is arguably the third-best big man in the NBA as we speak:

It won't be arguable by the end of 2025-26.

Rockets' Alperen Sengun is due for growth

I wanted to write that Sengun is a better scorer than Towns outside of shooting, but the 2024-25 numbers don't support that hypothesis. Sengun regressed as an interior scorer last year. Expect that to be a blip on the radar of his career.

If it is, Sengun will surpass Towns quickly. With some efficient inside scoring, the shooting gap won't be enough to give the nod to Towns. Sengun's skill set will be too undeniably versatile.

Who knows? He may give Wembanyama a run for his money. Fans will laugh, but they shouldn't sell Sengun's potential short. This kid has the talent to earn recognition as the best big in the league behind Nikola Jokic:

Luckily, the Rockets know it.