Facing stagnating stats and a rising star in Amen Thompson, Houston's versatile center faces an uphill battle to prove his doubters wrong and secure another Western Conference All-Star nod.
Do You Think Şengün Will Be an All-Star This Year?
The Houston Rockets were one of the many teams to have two players invited to participate in last season’s All-Star Tournament. An impressive honor that’s reserved for the best teams in the league. This year, however, might be a little more difficult for one of those guys to make it.
It’s safe to say Kevin Durant is virtually a lock if he stays healthy. He's even been named a captain and drafted his own team when he wasn’t going to suit up for the festivities. Fans will likely vote him in regardless of what happens, and he’ll more than likely be deserving of a spot.
I’m expecting Alperen Şengün to have a tougher road to All-Star Weekend for multiple reasons aside from just overall popularity. That popularity comes from how good these players are, and Şengün is obviously nowhere near the level of Kevin Durant.
KD is a perennial All-Star, he’s expected to be there every year. As of now, I see Şengün as more of the Domantas Sabonis type of All-Star. He made two back to back appearances in 2020 and 2021, but then was only selected again 2023. It’s been crickets since.
For a more optimistic, but still realistic outlook, Pau Gasol was named an All-Star six times, but those were also spaced out a bit. His first selection was with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006, followed by a three-peat with the Lakers from 2009 to 2011. After that, it took four years for him to get another back to back appearance with the Chicago Bulls.
There’s typically one or two centers who always have the stats, but their selection isn’t fully dependent on their own game. It’s also based on players in the rest of the league, and how the team is performing. Case in point, Şengün only made it last season as an injury replacement.
It was easier for him to be voted in during the 2025 season when the Rockets were overachieving with Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. It wasn’t quite the same when the team hadn’t made any major improvements and Şengün’s stats were virtually identical to the year prior.
I personally wouldn’t bet on him being an All-Star for the third straight season. I’m not writing it off, but we’d need to see some serious improvements in his game. He’s stagnated a bit and plenty of people have already soured on him, as he was recently voted the most overrated player, per Roundtable.
Not to mention everyone is hoping and expecting to see great things from Amen Thompson. There might be a new sheriff in town to take some votes away from Alperen Şengün. I would be mildly surprised to see Alpi be an All-Star again this year, but I’d love to be proved wrong.
