Houston Rockets’ Alperen Şengün has shown time and again why he is a potential player to lead the surge of European talent in the NBA. However, he has been faltering on defense, especially in recent games, and his lapses on that end have drawn criticism from NBA legend Kendrick Perkins.
NBA Legend Kendrick Perkins Calls Out Alperen Şengün’s Defense
Şengün has a defensive rating of 111.3 and is averaging 1.1 blocks and 1.2 steals per game, indicating that he has it in him. However, his performances in the past couple of outings have suggested otherwise, despite his stellar production on the offensive end. The 23-year-old’s trajectory as a defender has concerned Perkins. In the RoadTrippinShow podcast, he didn’t mince words while talking about how he misjudged Şengün talent-wise.
“He makes my f*cking skin crawl. He’s no where close to what I expected talent wise. Offensively he has that but it’s a mindset bro!”
Dylan Harper of the San Antonio Spurs said after the game against the Rockets that they ran the same play against them 15 times, which meant that their primary target was the Turkish center, who lacked the desired agility. Referring to the incident, Perkins added:
“Dylan Harper said they went at him 15 straight plays. You know how f*cking disrespectful that is? They know that you’re not going to put your feet in the ground and be willing to slide your f*cking puppies for TWO STEPS and take pride in defending.”
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The player-turned-analyst further noted that Şengün should ideally take charge of the defense at some point, but he continues to give up too much on the defensive end.
“No Steven Adams, at some point you’re gonna have to say ‘I have to anchor this defense.’ You can’t give me 110% offensively, and give me 40% on defense.”
On a positive note, Şengün has been averaging 20.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. In February, he etched his name in the history books by recording the 10th 25/10/10 game by a center in NBA all-time after finishing with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, and two steals, and continues to be a young standout.
However, he was out of action in the last game against the New Orleans Pelicans, where the Rockets handed a 107-105 loss to them, and as per reports, the Turkish player’s future is ‘questionable’ in the Los Angeles Lakers vs. the Rockets, scheduled for March 16, 2026.
In his most recent game on March 11, Şengün racked up 10 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 3 blocks to help his team emerge victorious against the Toronto Raptors.
The Rockets headed to the 2025 NBA Playoffs as the second seed, a drought-breaking moment. However, they lost to Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors in the first round, thus ending their title dreams.
