OAKLAND — Alperen Şengün’s eyes scanned the crowd until he locked on his target. The Houston Rockets center strode over to the corner of the Oakland Arena court, took aim and launched his missiles into section 105.
Şengün’s father, Kemal, nearly fell over attempting to catch a rolled up T-shirt. A man wearing a cowboy hat with the Rockets logo on it — Şengün’s best friend from Turkey — waved his arms wildly and cheered. Şengün cracked up laughing.
The Rockets center and first-time NBA All-Star was like a kid in a candy store at Saturday’s All-Star practice, a walking personification of the “I am so happy!” message that immediately endeared him to Houston fans on NBA draft night in 2021.
Şengün had been at All-Star weekend before, as a two-time Rising Star, but this felt different. This time, he was part of the main attraction.
Every time Şengün turned a corner in the arena on Saturday, he was asked for an autograph or a photo. Cameras tracked his every move. Şengün walked out to the court for practice side-by-side with Nikola Jokić, arguably the best player in the world and now his All-Star teammate.
Şengün is the first Rocket to be named an All-Star since James Harden and Russell Westbrook in 2020. Şengün was drafted the following summer, and with him as a franchise cornerstone the Rockets have risen from the ashes.
“I couldn’t be here without my teammates,” he said Saturday. “We having an amazing year, you know, and I’m just one of the pieces of that team. So just proud of being here, proud of playing for Houston Rockets over here.”
The chaos and glamour of All-Star media day did not distract Şengün from his main inspirations.
A group of about 15 people including Şengün’s parents, best friends, agent and girlfriend flew out to the Bay Area to support his latest career benchmark. One was Halis Yalcin, who became friends with Şengün through a mutual friend three years ago and watched a star being born.
“He’s like a god in Texas,” Yalcin said. “We are very proud of him.”
According to Yalcin, Şengün’s skill on the basketball court is rivaled only by his proficiency at PlayStation, especially when playing FIFA or NBA 2K.
Bora Sancar, Şengün’s agent since he was 15, said he always believed his client had All-Star potential but could not have predicted it would happen so quickly.
