Alperen Şengün's life should get easier this season. Does it make Rockets' center more efficient?

Alperen Şengün enters the 2026-27 season with the expectation of more help from a healthy Fred VanVleet. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle) Third in a series of Rockets player previews ahead of the 2026-27 season.

>Perhaps no Houston Rocket - save for the injured players themselves - felt the absence of Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams more than Alperen Şengün did last season.

>Şengün earned his second straight All-Star appearance, but it came amid an at-times trying campaign. VanVleet's injury robbed him of a reliable point guard and the resulting easier opportunities. Without Adams, whose season ended in mid-January, Houston couldn't employ the overwhelming double-big lineup.

>Şengün set career-highs in the percentage of time he held the ball and in the rate of his baskets that didn't come off assists, per DataBallr and Cleaning the Glass, respectively. He finished the season with sparkling top-line stats, averaging 20.4 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists. He was in the 99th percentile among big men in the percentage of teammate shots that he assisted on, per Cleaning the Glass.

>But it came on below-average efficiency. Şengün's points per shot attempt was in just the 33rd percentile among big men and his turnover percentage in the 37th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.

>With Şengün on the floor, Houston outscored its foes by 4.5 points per 100 possessions when removing garbage time minutes and adjusting for 3-point variance. But with those same adjustments, the Rockets won the non-Şengün minutes by 9.4 points per 100 possessions, per DataBallr.

Alperen Şengün set career-highs in the percentage of time he held the ball and in the rate of his baskets that didn't come off assists last season. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle) Some of that gap is explained by going against better players but the Rockets defense was notably worse with Şengün on the court: In his minutes, Houston's opponents shot better, especially at the rim, and rebounded more of their own misses.

>The predictive advanced numbers still rated Şengün very highly. He ranked 37th among all players and second only behind Kevin Durant among Rockets in DARKO, a predictive comprehensive stat that factors in on-off, box score and tracking data. A similar stat, EPM (Estimated Plus-Minus), put him fifth on the team and in the 79th percentile among all players.

>Entering the 2026-27 season, Şengün is locked into the starting center spot and will once again be a featured offensive piece for Houston - but one who should have to do less work by himself since the Rockets aren't as starved for playmaking.

Nerd statThe percentage of Şengün's shots that come at the rim has dropped every year he's been in the NBA, even as he made a career-high 68% of those shots last season, per Cleaning the Glass.

What to watch in the first 20 gamesDoes shouldering less self-creation responsibilities allow Şengün to redistribute effort to other parts of his game?

>With VanVleet, Marcus Smart and upgraded versions of Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard, Houston should have to rely less on Şengün isolations or post-ups to generate offense. Can the big man use that freed-up energy to improve his efficiency by settling for less mid-range attempts or by being a more consistent presence as a defender and rebounder?

A successful season for Şengün is ...A season where he improves his efficiency, defense and rebounding en route to another All-Star campaign or his first All-NBA selection.

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