The NBA has featured several players from Turkey, but Alperen Sengun stands out as one of the most talented, with the potential to become the first All-NBA player from the country. Given his impressive skills and impact, Turkish basketball fans hold him in the same regard as Michael Jordan, according to Ime Udoka.
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Ahead of the Rockets’ Saturday night matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers, head coach Ime Udoka spoke about Sengun. During his conversation with reporters, Udoka highlighted just how beloved the star player is in his home country.
“He’s Michael Jordan in Turkey based on what my coaches said,” Udoka revealed.
Ime Udoka said Alperen Sengun is “Michael Jordan in Turkey” based on what his assistant coaches told him after walking around with him there in the summer. pic.twitter.com/cxO9pDB5IM
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) January 19, 2025
The NBA is the most popular basketball league in the world. In countries with only a handful of players representing them, the standout stars often receive an extraordinary amount of attention. Players like Giannis Antetokounmpo in Greece, Nikola Jokić in Serbia, and Luka Dončić in Slovenia are treated as national icons. Similarly, in Turkey, Sengun is blessed with the same superstar treatment by fans.
Of course, Sengun isn’t yet on the same level as the three aforementioned players. However, the 22-year-old continues to improve steadily year after year. Despite a slight dip in his scoring this season, he has found other ways to contribute, averaging career-highs in rebounds, assists, and steals.
Leading his team to a #2 position in the stacked Western Conference, the 6ft 11″ center is on track to earn his first All-Star selection. With this success comes the added pressure of guiding his team to a high playoff seed and potentially making a deep postseason run.
Growing up in humble surroundings in a small Turkish city, Sengun never imagined he would one day play in the NBA.
“Where I grew up it was just so small city and like you know in where I grow up there’s not rich people and I wasn’t rich,” Sengun said in JJ Redick’s podcast.
Now, he is a rising star with the potential to become a franchise player and boast a stacked resume. Sengun will also serve as an inspirational figure, like Hedo Türkoğlu before him, for perhaps the next generation of basketball players from Turkey or any other relatively unknown, smaller countries.
