Alperen Sengun on Constantly Being Called “Baby Jokic”

Alperen Sengun on Constantly Being Called “Baby Jokic”

A a big part of the evolution of basketball yeah is big guys who can serve and function as the Hub of the offense and not just in the post yeah did you have that skill set before you came to the United States in the NBA is that something you developed as at a

Young age is that a product of European basketball I mean when I was in playing over there you know in European I was just finishing uh in pain duning paint like you know I didn’t have mid-range shot I didn’t have any like three-point shot you know I wasn’t doing that I was doing

Good free thr I was taking good fils you know because like it was uh I’ll be honest like it was hard I was like you know so physical and like trying to take a fail when I was in Turkey too I was going to line a lot and they were like

Same position like you know how regarding am right now you know like I was trying to take a fail all the time and like because I was trying to go to paint all the time like going to rim trying to dunk finish inside you know so

That was like I believe and I’m still talking some of my some of still my national team players national team um teammates you know and then like we still talking it was like you know I was trying to take a fail and then like finishing in the inside and they were

Just scared to fail me and they want to stay in the game you know so it was yeah difficult but I didn’t have like I just know it I’m going to improve my some skills you know and like get some midrange sh some three-point shot you

Know and I’m just working on it right now you’re working on it right now I work all summer I I I think it’s working right now I think it’s working right now I don’t want to toot my own horn here but toot toot [ __ ] we did a show earlier this

Fall I know you don’t pay attention to [ __ ] but we did a show earlier this fall and we did a show on uh three potential breakout Stars yeah and I one of mine was you oh really yeah because I the jump from your rookie to your sophomore

Year the way you finished last season you know individually uh was phenomenal and I was like this guy’s a stud and I said you know the mini yic thing I’m not the first person to say that yeah for sure I’m not the last person I also compared you sabonis is another great

Example of a fiveman hub right in the modern NBA um does the yic comparison does that bother you I mean no no no not for now you know still young but after some point yeah is it do you feel like it’s a a pretty big compliment like does

It does it mean something I mean yeah they mean like my game is similar to him yeah is it true though you know we kind of play yeah same game and it was when they were telling me first time I came here yeah you know it was sounds better

And like sounds better but getting getting like you know getting your own space now in NBA you know on your spot so of course when he got retired or something when he got old and I’m going to some age you know I don’t want to

People tell me to like meet baby yic you know right right now it’s fine right now I’m like a baby but like when I grow up I don’t want to hear that do you get up like there’s there was matchups when I played right like where I knew going

Into a game like I’m [ __ ] I gotta guard dwade tonight uh or you know job for me was like cuz he was just so smart and so competitive I was like I got to be I got to be on my aame if I’m I’m going Manu are there matchups like that

Like with joic are you more excited for that matchup sabonis and be like versus just a normal run-of-the-mill five in the NBA I can just tell yeah of course always like uh exiting playing against these big players but like I mean when I go to court this year especially I

Improve myself and like when I’m thinking like I’m not thinking I was thinking like how I’m gonna guard them you know but now I’m thinking how they going to guard me you know like I want to like be like cerebral thinker what’s your advantage yes I

Don’t want to think like how I’m going to guard what I’m going to do I don’t want to go that position anymore you know I improve myself and that I’m going to say like and I want I’m saying now how they going to guard me you know um

Like ego helped me a lot on that because I was thinking you know too I was thinking you know is a big game yic like sabon is like beat you know what I’m going to do can you tell me like you know I’m asking like what else what what

I can do and can help me in the game and then he was telling me you know what like you know what like yic is thinking right now like he thinks the same thing like you know like think that way just be like you know unguardable over there

And like you’re going to guard him just be tough like you know that’s that’s actually interesting yeah one time in the middle of a game I was playing this was my seventh Year we’re playing in Orlando against the Miami Heat yeah and I was going at it with dwade like I

I had it going that night I’m running around screens I’m [ __ ] chasing the ball I’m cutting all that stuff and he also had it going yeah and I and and I we were at the free throw line and I said something I was just like man I

[ __ ] hate guarding you and he turned to me and he was like you know what I hate guarding you too and that was for me it was like oh [ __ ] yeah all right these guys got to chase me around like of course that moment is like it’s tough

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Our guest this week is rising star for The Houston Rockets, Alperen Sengun. We also have a check-in with our newest correspondent, Trey Murphy of the New Orleans Pelicans.

In this clip, Sengun talks about the comparison between him and Nikola Jokic (The Denver Nuggets) and whether he hates the nickname “Baby Jokic.”

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.