Rockets' Alperen Sengun is making history in EuroBasket play

Alperen Sengun has emerged as a star for the Houston Rockets. Now, he's solidifying his rising status in international play.

That claim will be greeted with skepticism. Some will suggest that international play is relatively meaningless. The competition level is low. Wake us up when Sengun is playing against fellow NBAers again.

Only, there are plenty of NBA players in this summer's EuroBasket tournament. There have been plenty throughout the tournament's history.

Sengun is making history anyway.

Rockets' Alperen Sengun is dominating international play

Sengun is the first player to register 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in three consecutive EuroBasket games in 30 years.

It speaks to Sengun's versatility. Rockets fans are well acquainted with his approach. Sengun is a great decision-maker with the ball, which leads to a lot of assists. He's leveraging that floor vision to dominate for Team Turkey.

It should come as no surprise. The Turkish team is talented, but Sengun is their best player by a large margin. The team runs most of its offense through the prodigal young big man.

Will his play translate at the NBA level?

Rockets need a big season from Alperen Sengun

On Team Turkey, Sengun is The Guy. It won't be that simple with the Rockets in 2025-26. More accurately, Sengun will be One of the Guys.

He's one of the two most important players for the team's future. If it isn't Sengun, it's Amen Thompson. That's a debate fans can have among themselves, but any other answer would be unreasonable.

Next year, Kevin Durant will be the team's north star. He'll be the first offensive option. The Rockets will need Durant to rack up baskets:

But where does that leave Sengun?

Don't be surprised if Sengun's assists per game tick upward. With Durant shouldering so much scoring, there's an opportunity for Sengun to make more use of his passing chops for the Rockets. It should be more difficult for defenses to swarm Sengun with Durant on the perimeter as well, so his scoring efficiency should improve.

The desire for Sengun to improve his three-point shooting is also well-documented. That would help him gel with Amen Thompson. So, his 2/3 shooting from downtown in his last contest is encouraging.

More broadly, nobody should mistake EuroBasket production for NBA play. Still, it's fun to watch Sengun make history with his home country. It should encourage Rockets fans who are looking for him to make another leap in 2025-26 as well:

Even if he's already a star.