HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- Within the first week of being around him, Jae’Sean Tate knew Alperen Sengun had the potential to be something special in the NBA.
“Post work, skill, passing ability. I’ve played around the world, and there’s not a lot of talent I’ve seen do what he can do,” Tate said.
Tate has had a front row seat as Sengun has blossomed from an 18-year old trying to find his way playing basketball at the highest level in a foreign country into an NBA All-Star. There were certainly some bumps along the way, but Tate was proud of the way Sengun worked his way through them
“The growth he's had over the last few years is coming full circle and paying off,” Tate said. “I knew he could be it, and there's a lot of people that you could say that about, but for them to actually get there and achieve those dreams and goals that takes a different type of person.”
Sengun is Tate’s first teammate to be selected to the All-Star Game in his five NBA seasons, but he expects to have many more.
“I know we have multiple (All-Stars),” Tate said. “There's just only a certain amount of people (that make it). We play in the West, so we could easily have two or three more guys that had their name called, and their time will come.”
Thursday’s All-Star selection wasn’t just a milestone for Sengun, it marked a return to prominence of sorts for a Rockets franchise that hadn’t had a player picked to play in the game since 2020 and has had more games broadcast nationally in July than during the regular season over the last few seasons.
“That’s a huge accomplishment, especially starting where we started from” Rockets guard Jalen Green, who entered the league with Sengun in 2021 said. “I feel like I got in there.”
Though he didn’t make it, a strong January vaulted Green into the All-Star conversation. He appreciated the recognition, but admitted it didn’t mean much.
“I’m just happy one of us got it,” Green said. “There’s more to come, hopefully from me and more from (Sengun).”