Despite the fact his new team doesn’t look at him as their centerpiece, Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant is capable of being the team’s No. 1 option. Just last season, the 36-year-old averaged 26.6 points and 4.2 assists per game on .527-.430-.839 shooting splits. An elite shot-creator and shot-maker that excels at converting difficult looks in three dribbles or less, he’s a 15-time All-Star for a reason.
From that perspective, Rockets center Alperen Sengun’s averages from his inaugural All-Star season (19.1 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 4.9 APG) aren’t as eye-popping as Durant’s. With that in mind, it isn’t often a player that outscored his future teammate by +7.5 points per game the previous season would be asked to be second-in-command.
Yet, when factoring in Sengun’s play style, he’s a natural fulcrum.
Alperen Sengun Is Rockets Most Important Player
Let’s get straight to the point.
Durant’s role next season should be somewhat similar a mercenary. Instead of overburdening himself with getting his teammates involved, he can picked teams apart with his off-ball shooting and 1-on-1 scoring ability. That isn’t to say he’ll have no playmaking responsibility. Just that if he focuses on what he’s best at while letting Sengun pull the strings, the offense should run smoothly.
And when the offense flows through Alperen Sengun’s work in the post, his gravity forces defenses to collapse onto him
When they do, his playmaking & passing jump out, as he’s able to take advantage of cutters and open shooters with his vision https://t.co/TAMoa1JFCI pic.twitter.com/vD5vSUvQwZ
— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) August 23, 2025
The proof of concept is seen in the way the Rockets have played with Sengun.
OH MY WHAT A PASS FROM SENGUN
Behind-the-back to a cutting Tari Eason!! pic.twitter.com/jpix0msENB
— NBA (@NBA) March 13, 2025
Having him in the middle of the floor helps keep defenses honest. If a defense doesn’t maintain their integrity, he’s more than capable of exploiting it. When he and Jalen Green began to develop their two-man game, he helped the streaky young guard control his pace. It’s also notable that they’ve had a .567 win percentage since 2023-24 and that as they have a .574 win percentage since 2023-24 when Sengun records at least three assists and a .706 win percentage when he records at least seven assists.
Proven Methodology
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is a player that Sengun has often been compared to. A ravenous rebounder, spectacular scorer and all-purpose passer, Jokic’s a three-time NBA MVP who leads a perennial title contender. Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis is another example of a big man whose combination of size, skill and playmaking makes him one of the league’s better levers. Though he and his team aren’t nearly as adept as Jokic and the Nuggets, they’re a playoff-level team that relies on Sabonis.
At present, Sengun’s closer to Sabonis than Jokic in terms of production and closer to Jokic than Sabonis in terms of play style. Similar to what Sengun has experienced with Green and will continue to with Durant, both have played alongside an All-Star-caliber score-first perimeter player. In Jokic’s case, it’s primarily combo guard Jamal Murray. In Sabonis’s case, it was primarily hybrid guard De’Aaron Fox (who has since been supplanted by Zach LaVine).
Other Examples
Looking at the other popular European pivots and the NBA’s noticeably Neapolitan league , Sengun clears.
Take Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas and Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic for example. Compared to those European pivots, he’s simply a more gifted and determined playmaker. He and Vucevic actually both demonstrated the ability to be a top scoring option much earlier than Valanciunas.
The Last Word on Alperen Sengun-Kevin Durant Duo
Let’s use the aforementioned players to predict the success that the Rockets could have with Sengun as the top dog.
Again, looking at that Balkan-Baltic quartet, Houston will probably fall somewhere in between Sacramento and Denver. With that in mind, Sabonis helped lead the Kings to the 2023 NBA Playoffs. This was while being central to a dribble handoff-heavy scheme that the Rockets might soon mimic. That season, he ranked first in assists and second in points.
Of course, this type of comparison is by no means an exact science. Nevertheless, with Durant as his second-in-command, Sengun would likely be more successful than Sabonis was with Fox. For all of Fox’s wily tricks, he can’t hold a candle to Durant as a jump shooter. In fact, Fox’s unpredictable three-ball dampened the potency of his partnership with Sabonis. Thus, it contributed to the Kings failing to reach their potential.
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