Though his season ended a few weeks early because of a March 10 ankle injury, the 2023-24 campaign was a massive breakthrough for third-year Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun. On a per-game basis, the 21-year-old Turkish big man led Houston in scoring (21.1 points) and rebounds (9.3) while shooting 53.7%, a team-high among rotation players. With Sengun as an offensive focal point, the Rockets (41-41) improved by 19 wins from the previous season, which was the best year-on-year growth of any NBA team. Sengun was a finalist for the league’s Most Improved Player award and drew heavy All-Star consideration earlier in the year. With that in mind, there’s a lot to like as Houston’s starting center heads into the 2024 offseason and begins preparations for 2024-25. In a recent social media post (translated from Turkish), here’s what Sengun said about his recently completed season: This past season we have improved a lot, as a Houston Rockets family. I’m proud of that, but it’s not enough for us. Next season, we will fight until the last moment for even greater achievements. We received a lot of love and support throughout the whole season. I want to thank the Houston Rockets family for that. I would also like to thank my country. Their interest has made me very happy and given me strength. I will try hard to make our fans and my country more proud. See you next season. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alperen Şengün (@alperen.sengun) Sengun is widely expected to retain his starting role in 2024-25, though he will have a more proven backup, veteran Steven Adams. Sengun is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, though there are a few financial factors that could incentivize the Rockets to wait on that until restricted free agency in the 2025 offseason. Rockets star Alperen Sengun named Most Improved Player finalist by NBARockets open to, but not burdened by, contract extension talks with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun Email Sign up Like this article? Sign up for the Rockets Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning An error has occured Please re-enter your email address. Thanks for signing up! You'll now receive the top Rockets Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.
Source: https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2024/0 ... n-2024-25/