Shocking stat proves Rockets have budding star in Alperen Sengun

The Houston Rockets know they have a budding star in Alperen Sengun. The numbers show it - last year, Sengun was the second-most double-teamed player in the NBA.

You read right. Unsurprisingly, the most double-teamed player was Sengun's idol. Defenders do whatever they can to mitigate Nikola Jokic's offense. He was double-teamed for 841 touches. Sengun was right after him with 749 touches.

What does it all mean?

Rockets weren't built for Sengun last year

It means Sengun is the second-best player in the league, naturally.

Jokes aside, there's a clear pattern in the numbers. The top 4 most doubled players are all some variant of big man, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Giannis Antetokounmpo rounding out the list. Of the top 10 most double-teamed players, only 3 were guards.

This shows us that size remains the most significant advantage in basketball. It's not that guards can't impact the game as well. Any time you double-team a player, you make a compromise elsewhere. It seems that more often, it's worth simply keeping guards in single coverage.

That's not the only reason Sengun saw such frequent double teams. It must be said that the Rockets put a poor shooting roster around him in 2024-25. Teams felt comfortable doubling up on Sengun because they knew his teammates would be less likely to make them regret it. Moreover, it would also be fair to add that Sengun needs to process those coverages more quickly and hit open teammates with passes.

That'll be easier in 2025-26.

Rockets improve roster around Sengun

For starters, teams now have to worry about Kevin Durant. Double-teaming Sengun becomes a more dangerous proposition with one of the best shooters in NBA history hovering around the perimeter. Typically, Durant's primary assignment will be the type of tall wing that's both needed to guard him and effectively double Sengun. That's the type of bind that the league's best offenses put teams in.

Dorian Finney-Smith is a capable floor spacer as well. The Rockets are a better shooting team heading into 2025-26, and Sengun should see fewer double teams as a result. His offensive efficiency should spike when he's in single coverage more frequently.

Circumstance aside, this stat still tells us that teams fear Sengun. If they didn't, they'd still prefer to keep a man on all of his teammates. He's a budding star, and he'll prove that more easily alongside Kevin Durant:

The Rockets know it, and now the rest of the league will find out.