Jalen Green (United States), Dillon Brooks (Canada) and Jock Landale (Australia) aren’t the only Houston Rockets players participating on the international stage in the 2023 NBA offseason.
After a late change in plans, Alperen Sengun is playing for Turkey’s national basketball team in August’s FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament. On Saturday, Houston’s talented young big man had 10 points, 7 rebounds and a block in 15 minutes as Turkey crushed Iceland, 99-72, in the opening tournament game for both teams.
Based on the talent mismatch, Sengun was only asked to play in the first half. The big man connected on 2-of-4 shots (50%) Saturday while going 6-for-6 on free-throw attempts.
Turkey’s pre-qualifying tournament games all take place in Istanbul from Aug. 12-20. Turkey is battling with Ukraine, Bulgaria and Iceland in Group C action. Group D features Croatia, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands. The two top teams from each group advance to a knockout stage, and the tournament winner earns a ticket to next year’s qualifiers for the 2024 Olympics.
As for the Rockets and the NBA, Sengun averaged 14.8 points (55.3% FG, 33.3% on 3-pointers), 9 rebounds, 3.9 assists in 28.9 minutes last year. He remains Houston’s expected starting center entering training camp for the 2023-24 season, which begins in October.
From Saturday, here’s a look at Sengun’s highlights versus Iceland.