Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
Alperen Şengün completely schooled Wemby in Rockets vs. Spurs.
It only took Victor Wembanyama a few minutes to break out one of the greatest highlights of his young NBA career when the San Antonio Spurs traveled to take on the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night. Rockets center Alperen Şengün took the San Antonio rookie down to the post, lowered his shoulder to create space, and went for the hook shot.
Wembanyama swatted it out the air, recovered the ball, dribbled down court, and went into a stepback three-pointer, which he drained. Watch the sequence here. This was always going to be a tough individual matchup for Sengun: Wembanyama has six inches of height and a foot of wingspan on the Rockets’ center. He’s been on an absolute tear lately and is suddenly putting together one of the best rookie seasons in league history.
Just as the Wemby hype was reaching its apex, Şengün went out and taught the rookie a lesson.
The Rockets beat the Spurs, 114-101, behind the best game of Şengün’s career, and arguably the most embarrassing night of Wembanyama’s. Şengün finished with 45 points, 16 rebounds, five steals, three assists, and a block on 19-of-32 shooting from the floor, 2-of-3 shooting from three-point range, and 5-of-7 shooting from the foul line. It was one of the best performances of the season, and he did it by attacking Wembanyama the whole time.
Wembanyama managed only 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks, and three assists in the loss, and shot only 4-of-10 from the floor in 31 minutes. He didn’t take a shot in the second half somehow. Watch highlights of Şengün’s big night here:
“He’s so tall but he’s not that strong yet,” Şengün said of Wembanyama after the game. “So I was going at his chest and putting him under the rim.”
Şengün scored 30 of his 45 points in the second half, and sealed the win for Houston with a dominant fourth quarter. His level of footwork, craftiness, strength, and post touch is just incredible.
Here are four incredible Şengün buckets against Wembanyama in the final five minutes of the game.
Şengün was getting it done on defense, too, holding Wembanyama without a field goal after halftime despite 16 minutes of play. Here’s one of his best sequences of the night: Şengün’s quick hands strip Wemby on his post-up attempt, he runs the floor, gets the ball back, and throws a wild behind-the-back pass to Cam Whitmore for the dunk.
This is basketball brilliance right here:
Is the post game dead in the NBA? Don’t tell that to Şengün. This clip from the third quarter should be taught to big men at lower levels: the Rockets star sets a screen, rolls into the lane, uses his lower body to move Wembanyama off the block, and then hits him with a spinning hook shot for the bucket.
It’s beautiful.
Şengün is 21 years old and in his third NBA season after being the No. 16 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Şengün, who is a native of Turkey, won MVP in his domestic league at 18 years old before entering the draft. Some scouts were worried his lack of athleticism and lack of elite size would hold him back in the NBA, but the analytical models loved his production against pro competition. Right now, he looks like one of the biggest draft day steals of the 2020s so far.
Şengün got left off the All-Star team this year, but he was close to making it. He’s had a great year, averaging 21.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game for a Houston team that is finally out of the NBA cellar. Unfortunately, the Rockets’ bid for a play-in tournament spot has been fading over the last month, but their future is super bright with a talented young roster led by Şengün.
Is that Hakeem out there?
Wembanyama and Şengün are going to be competing for so many years in Texas. This round goes to Şengün. We can’t wait to see the next chapter.
