Alperencengun at the Houston Rockets Center is one of the biggest names for the upcoming Eurobasket 2025.
The tournament will feature Nikola Djokic (Serbia), Giannis Anteto Compo (Greece), and Lukadon Sic (Slovenia).
Sengun has past and present NBA players as teammates such as Adem Bona, Cedi Osman and Shane Larkin.
Larkin spoke at length about the Rockets star before Türkiye’s opening game with co-host Latvia, predicting his potential.
Although Larkin was born and raised in the United States, he received Turkish citizenship in 2020 while playing for the Istanbul-based Club Anadoru Efes.
He has since played several times with Sengung for the Turkish national team and has seen his development into top players.
“I think we all can see that,” Larkin told Basketnake. “ALPI has grown into an NBA All-Star, one of the best players in the NBA. He has a talent to continue to grow.”
“When he first came here, he was like you said, a rookie and there was a lot of things he needed to work on to become more efficient.
“And I think it’s important to him that his style, the way he played in the NBA and the way he allowed him to make mistakes in order to take those steps. I think the sky is at its limit.”
Larkin even believes that Senggun can become an NBA superstar player.
“I think there’s still a lot he can add to his game to make him even better. He’s one of the top 10 players in the NBA due to his raw skills and everything he can do with the ball,” he added.
“So I think this is a great tournament for him to keep taking a step in that direction and continue to play in a different kind of basketball, and I look forward to playing with him.
Having played four seasons in the NBA with four different teams, Larkin named Senn the best center he’s ever played.
The point guard’s biggest teammate was Dark Nowitzki, who played for the Dallas Mavericks in the 2013-14 season, but he was a power forward.
“I’ve been playing for a long time, man. That’s a tough question,” Larkin replied. “But I think he is the only NBA center I was an All-Star.
“So, if you count Dark as four, obviously he can’t go against it. But yeah, I’d say he’s probably the best center I’ve played with.”