Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo impressed by Alperen Sengun

Houston Rockets forward Alperen Sengun received one of the biggest on-court compliments Friday night against the 2021 NBA Finals Champion Milwaukee Bucks. The praise wasn’t verbal, but it spoke volumes to Sengun’s progression in his rookie season thus far.

While Bucks’ superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo had his way on the offensive side of the court in the 123-114 win over the Rockets to end their seven-game winning streak, it would be his defense that saved Milwaukee from losing back-to-back games. The former Defensive Player of the Year was called upon to slow down Sengun, who was wreaking havoc on the Bucks frontcourt.

Early in the fourth quarter, Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer switched Antetokounmpo to the center position in a desperate move to stop Sengun. It isn’t a move the coach likes to make, but it was the only adjustment to prevent the Rockets from winning their eighth game in a row.

The switch also caused havoc on the defensive end of the court for the Rockets as the Bucks ball movement forced Sengun to be matched up against Milwaukee’s quicker frontcourt. With the defensive rotation out of synch, Rockets head coach Stephen Silas had to take Sengun out of the game.

“That’s a first-team all-defensive, defensive player of the year guy that our 19-year-old rookie had to play against,” said coach Silas when asked was the switch a sign of respect to Sengun. “They made an adjustment for him (Antetokounmpo) to guard him. That’s a sign of respect to me for sure.”

Sengun, who was selected with the 16th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, also received high praises from Antetokounmpo for his performance on the court, finishing the game with 15 points and five rebounds:

He’s a good player. Takes his time; nothing can speed him up. He might be slow in the post, but he’s effective. He’s playing well. He’s playing a lot of minutes off the bench, gives energy to his teammates. He rebounds the ball well. He’s being aggressive, sets good screens. I think the sky’s the limit for him.

While Antetokounmpo was giving the rookie compliments during his postgame press conference, Sengun was also paying his respect to one of the best players in the NBA at the same time.

“I watched him all of the time,” Sengun said after the game. “I watched him in my childhood, long years. It’s giving me really big hope when I play against him like tonight. He is an amazing player. He is unbelievable. I was really happy because I played against him. I was really excited before the game.”

Houston will travel to Memphis on Saturday to take on the Grizzlies to start their three-game road trip.