Alperen Şengün has become the pride of Giresun.

Giresun national basketball player Alperen Şengün has become the most expensive Turkish athlete in history with the 5-year, 185 million dollar contract he signed with the Houston Rockets in the NBA, and this news was met with joy in his hometown of Giresun. Alperen’s first coach in Giresun, Salim Taslı, stated, “The figure is not very important for him, but it is a great achievement for Turkish sports history.”

Alperen Şengün started playing basketball at the age of 8 under the training of coach Salim Taslı in Giresun. After spending 4 years there, he signed his first professional contract with Bandırma Basketball İhtisas Club to climb the career ladder. He was transferred to Bandırma Kırmızı, one of the teams in the Turkish Basketball League, for the 2018-2019 season, and then to Beşiktaş, one of the teams in the Turkish Basketball Super League, for the 2020-2021 season. After a successful season, he was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Super League. Additionally, he holds the title of the youngest player to win the MVP in the league. In 2021, he was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round, 16th overall, and was traded to the Houston Rockets.

Şengün has also set numerous records with his performance in the NBA. He became the youngest center to reach 1,000 points and 200 assists in the NBA, and he is the youngest player to score at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists in a single NBA game. He is the youngest center in NBA history to achieve a triple-double and the youngest player in Houston Rockets history to do so. At just 21 years and 99 days old, he became the youngest center in NBA history to reach 500 assists. Furthermore, by scoring 45 points in a single game, he broke the record for the most points scored by a Turkish basketball player in an NBA game, previously held by Mehmet Okur.

First touch in his career

From the early years of his NBA career, the national basketball player has been associated with significant achievements and records. His first coach, Salim Taslı, who discovered him and guided his career development, expressed that Alperen’s success makes them proud. Taslı said, “It’s a great achievement for Turkish sports history. However, for Alperen, it is more important to have peace of mind before the new season rather than the financial aspect.”

Taslı recounted Alperen’s beginnings in basketball and his development, stating, “We started working with Alperen in 2010. Alperen’s father is also my neighborhood and school friend, and we played together in the school basketball team. Alperen came to me through him. He worked with us for 4 years. Later, in 2014, he was placed in the Banvit infrastructure through my coach Ahmet Gürkan due to the Minikler Festival. He stayed there for about 6 years. After that, his career continued with Beşiktaş and then the NBA adventure. He was incredibly talented and had great potential for physical development. We made a decision together with his family to guide him to where he needed to go as soon as possible because we recognized all his aspects.”

“We are in constant communication”

Taslı noted that he is in constant communication with Alperen and evaluated his new contract, saying, “Yes, we experienced the excitement of this the night before last. It was the last day, and he signed the contract at 02:00 Turkish time. It became the biggest agreement in the history of Turkish sports. I see it as a positive development for Alperen not to experience that stress rather than focusing on the financial side. He will perform beautifully this year. He has very important goals this season, such as becoming an NBA All-Star. On the other hand, he aims to improve his three-point shooting level and increase his free throw percentage. Our goal there was never financial. He made a very good decision to avoid a stressful entire season for his future. We do not get too caught up in the mentioned figure. It is not very important for him, but it is a great achievement for Turkish sports history,” he said.

“We are working to find new Alperens”

The experienced coach stated that he continues to work in basketball coaching to find and train new Alperens, saying, “We have basketball schools here. Our efforts are related to training new athletes. When we catch a talented child, we already direct them to the right places they need to go. We have a few promising children in our hands. Time will tell, depending on their physical development. We never predicted that Alperen would reach a height of 2 meters and 11 centimeters. In 2014, he was 1 meter and 78 centimeters tall, and then his height increased incredibly. No one could have predicted this. We are very happy that Alperen has made Giresun’s name known and that he wears the number 28 jersey. I also recommend Turkish basketball fans to enjoy watching Alperen play.”