Rockets' Fred VanVleet Praises 'Unguardable' Alperen Şengün: Has 'a Thousand Moves'

One of the biggest breakout stars of the 2023-24 season is Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün, whose performance has made a strong impression on Fred VanVleet.

The Rockets point guard told ESPN's Tim Bontemps that Şengün is an "unguardable" player who has "a thousand moves" to beat defenders.

"He's learning the higher aspects of the game now that he's going to be a featured guy and probably be an All-Star this year," VanVleet said. "He's going to keep learning the steps to [be one of] the greats, and what they got to deal with every night. But yeah, he's a problem."

Şengün was the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, who traded his rights to the Rockets for two future first-round picks. It's safe to say Houston is fine with the deal.

There were signs last season that Şengün had a lot of potential. He averaged 14.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game in 75 appearances during the 2022-23 campaign, but the team's 22-60 record meant there weren't many people paying close attention to what was happening in Houston.

The Rockets decided to kickstart their rebuild by signing VanVleet and Dillon Brooks in free agency. While they haven't been great yet with a 19-21 record, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for their future.

Şengün is, by far, the biggest reason. The 21-year-old is averaging 21.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in 40 starts. He's already got 14 double-doubles this season after having 28 in 2022-23.

Even though the Rockets are two games under .500 entering Friday, they are on the fringes of a spot in the play-in tournament in the Western Conference. They are one game behind the Los Angeles Lakers (21-21) for the No. 10 seed.

If the Rockets can figure out their issues away from home, they will be very dangerous in the second half of the season. They are 15-6 at the Toyota Center, but just 4-15 on the road.

For a franchise that's lost at least 55 games in each of the previous three seasons, them being competitive for a play-in spot right now is a dramatic improvement.