Alperen Sengun

Draft Notes

Sengun is big-bodied pf/c who really throws his weight around the court and makes his presence felt. As a teenager he’s able to play bully ball against grown men in the Turkish league and has put up monster stats, winning the MVP of the league at just 18 years old.

He’s got a wide base and natural strength (but also a lot of room for improvement with his strength and conditioning).

He does a good job of making himself available in the post and has a good understanding of spacing, screening, cutting and how to make plays within the flow of the offense. He’s got a soft touch around the basket and shoots a very high percentage from the field. He’s also got some pick and pop ability and the makings of a nice mid range jumper. He’ll almost certainly become an effective 3pt shooter in time.

His low post game is a thing of beauty and makes him a really unique prospect. He can score with either hand around the basket and has a wide variety of drop steps, spin moves and fade aways that keep the defense off balance. In some ways he reminds of Nikola Jokic with his advanced skill set in the post and he has shades of Domantas Sabonis in his game as well. There are some questions about how this style of play will translate but his production is off the charts and tends to be a good indicator of NBA success.

Sengun has a really nice feel for passing the ball for a young big man. He projects as a high level passer at the next level who can find cutters and kick it out to 3pt shooters when he gets doubled.

An excellent FT shooter who has an interesting routine of talking to the basketball before each free throw. And it works.

Sengun is more of a heavy, plodding big man and not an elite run/jump athlete. He can play above the rim a bit but he doesn’t live there. His heavy feet and slow-ish movements could be a liability defending against NBA pick and roll and his lack of length and vertical pop limit his ability to guard at the rim. He could get roasted on pick and rolls early in his career.

Comparisons

• Domantas Sabonis
• Nikola Vucevic

Draft Projection

mid lottery to mid first round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft

2021 Center Rankings

1. Evan Mobley – 7-0 – USC
2. Alperen Sengün – 6-10 – Turkey
3. Day’Ron Sharpe – 6-9 – UNC
4. Neemias Queta – 7-0 – Utah St. (Portugal)
6. Charles Bassey – 6-11 – Western Kentucky (Nigeria)
7. Jericho Sims – 6-10 – Texas
8. Luka Garza – 6-11 – Iowa
9. Sandro Mamukelashvili – 6-10 – Seton Hall (Georgia)
10. Filip Petrusev – 6-11 – Serbia
11. Santi Aldama – 6-11 – Loyola (MD) (Spain)
12. EJ Onu – 6-11 – Shawnee State
13. Jay Huff – 7-1 – Virginia
14. Balsa Koprivica – 7-1 – Florida State (Serbia)